Behind the Mask
by JennMel
Summary: SG-1 always understood the art of deception, of layered personalities and lifestyles. Mask upon mask upon mask until the only people you can trust are your second family. But then two members are ripped away, and that trust twists in the shadows of a lie.
1. Chapter 1

Author Notes: Okay, so when I first started reading fanfiction, _years_ ago, I had three major Stargate ideas in my head. The first two got merged into my original SG-1 story, but I never felt competent enough to tackle the third idea. Finally I do, with a few tweaks and twists to the original concept. This story will be AU, requiring knowledge up to the beginning of season 7 Canon-wise, and also with an awareness of later seasons, namely Vala. Although in that regard, for the purpose of this story, Vala was never made host for Qetesh.

As with some of my other stories, Jonas will be a fifth member of SG-1, as I always loved the banter between him and Daniel in the season 7 opener. There will be OCs in this story, but never to the point where they obscure the Canon characters. As for pairings, no OCs will be involved, but it may swing in the direction of a background/sidestory Daniel/Vala – I haven't decided yet. These notes are far too long, so I'll now let you get on with the story!

**Behind the Mask**

Chapter 1

It had come out of nowhere. How many times had Jack used that as an excuse in his mind? One minute they had been talking amicably, or at least, as amicably as possible when considering events of late, and the next some very violent masked men armed to the teeth with Goa'uld weapons had been bearing down on them.

Just once Jack would like a quite day out in an alien forest. Was that too much to ask?

And why, why of all the times they could have been ambushed, did they pick _now? _Today was meant to have been an easy ride, a simple way to pull the team back together again.

Jack scanned the forest as accurately as he dared without sufficient cover fire, trying to get a fix on his other teammates, having to remind himself continuously that he had four people to look out for now, not the accustomed three. After the most recent incident with Daniel, Jonas and Anubis, an uncertain period of months had followed, with SG-1's future make-up in question. At first, Jonas had returned to Kelowna, or whatever the blasted planet was calling itself nowadays, with Daniel steadily falling back into place on the team – an uphill struggle to say the least. But then fighting had broken out again, the Kelownans once more blaming Jonas, and the younger man had been forced to retreat to the only ones who would take him in; Earth.

Jack didn't really mind – not that he would ever admit it of course. Jonas' presence had allowed Daniel to relax more. The young alien was, ironically, much less alien than the soldiers that Daniel had been coming into contact with in his month of 'rehab' into once again being a member of the SGC.

And so the only course of possible action had been taken, and Jonas was established once more on the team, leaving Jack with not one, but two righteous, trouble-attracting, self-preservation lacking archaeologists. Thus bringing him right back to where he was now.

Carter's voice crackled on the radio, muffled by the discharge of staff weapons. He couldn't make it out.

They were being pushed back through the dense forest, and Jack noticed with a growing sense of dread that not only was it the opposite direction to where the Stargate lay to the north, but also into progressively thinning undergrowth.

He caught a flicker of movement, and was relieved to see a flash of blonde as two figures ran and fired at the same time. Jack dived behind the damp rotting truck of a once great tree, squinting in the fine mist of rain that had blown in. Carter had Jonas with her, which hopefully meant Daniel was with Teal'c.

Jack cursed. They needed to get out of this, but apparently these guys weren't giving up, making Jack increasingly certain their encounter was not a simple accident. Whether the cloaked men had been waiting for SG-1 in particular or not was unclear, but they were clearly after humans – their identity would probably be a bonus.

Shots directed at his head forced Jack to pull back more. He collided with Carter and Jonas, and the three ran without a second word. This time it was Major Carter who cursed.

The forest was thinning rapidly, and by the looks of it, was about to drop into a sharp incline; the growing noise of roaring water indicating a nasty landing at the bottom.

A lucky blind shot by Jack took down another one of their assailants, but more came.

And that was the end of their luck.

A cry to his right, and Carter fell, clutching her leg. Both Jack and Jonas skidded on the wet leaves and mud as they pulled themselves up short. They were on the edge of the forest now, with still no sign of the rest of their team, pinned down.

Carter's teeth were clenched as she tried to stem the sluggish bleeding from the burning wound. Their eyes met. This was very bad.

Jonas had the sense to try and contact Daniel and Teal'c by the radio while Jack lay down cover.

They were closing in, shot from staffs and zats flying in all direction from their enemies...and against them?

Teal'c was running towards them, followed by Daniel, skirting the edge of the undergrowth to increase their speed.

Everything seemed to slow down.

This wasn't possible.

Not again.

One minute Daniel was running, the next a stray staff blast impacted his chest, burning its way through to the flesh, its force throwing Daniel's momentum off balance, sending him flying. Right into the gorge.

It was enough to give their attackers the opening they needed. A zat blast caught Jonas, and the man slumped sideways. Teal'c had reached their position, adrenaline being the only thing keeping him and Jack from registering what had just happened.

But then everything blacked out as an electric charge surged through Jack's body.

* * *

Voices. Dull. They faded in and out like a bad phone line. Completely insignificant, especially when compared to the searing, throbbing pain coming from her leg.

At least, they were insignificant until one of the voices' owners touched the source of the pain.

"Major Carter? Can you hear me?"

Memories faded in and out. Well, at least he didn't sound like an alien.

Sam cracked open her eyes, failing to keep the grimace from her face as she was greeted by a canopy of trees silhouetted against a dull grey sky. The worried face of Major Griff of SG-2 swam into view, "Where..?" Her voice tried to catch up with her confused brain. What had happened? Had she passed out? Been shot a second time?

"Just try to lie still. We're going to get you on the stretcher here."

"Sir, they're coming round!" A voice came from outside of Sam's limited field of vision. She ignored Griff and managed to half sit up. Her stomach lurched.

"Where's the rest of my team?"

Griff's face was unreadable as he followed her gaze to where Jack and Teal'c were being helped up, "We were hoping you could tell us. When you didn't check in Hammond sent us after you. There are scorch marks on some of the trees, and if your leg is anything to go by, we figured something big must have happened."

Sam regarded him for a second, and then her lungs contracted, "Oh my god...Daniel." The realisation hit her like a speeding train, and she was pretty sure she had started shaking, belated shock from her wound setting in.

The Colonel's face was set, his eyes meeting Griff's, "He went over the edge." His voice was cold.

One of the less experienced men in the team – part of the medical detail by the looks – was unable to hold back his exclamation.

Griff nodded, leaving the rest unsaid. A team would be sent to try and find Daniel's body, but with the speeding river rapids below, little effort would be made. "And Quinn?"

Jack looked lost for a second, but his masked was wrenched into place too quickly to be sure, "He was hit by a zat. I didn't see."

"He was taken by the men." Teal'c voice rumbled, the venom that dripped from the tones letting everyone know how badly the stoic Jaffa was taking the situation. The medic dabbing his head wound blanched, but did not relent from his task. "One of them hit me around the head with his weapon. I could do nothing to stop them."

"We need to find him!" Sam knew she wouldn't be able to deal with losing both of them at the same time. At least Jonas could still be alive.

Major Griff looked grim, and there was a long pause. "We sent out a MALP and a UAV before Hammond would let us go after you. Apart from you three, there's no indication of life for miles, or any energy signature that would indicate a ship. Whoever they were, they seem to have gone. I'm sorry Colonel."

Silence reigned as a shocked SG-1 simply sat there as their rescue team prepared to move out. This morning they had been the biggest team in the SGC, and now they were the smallest.

Sam's hands clenched into fists, her spirit vowing to find Jonas, while her mind sorrowfully informed her that he might as well have died along with Daniel; finding one person in the entire galaxy was next to impossible, and the funding for such a search...

Her eyes met with the last two members of her team.

Words would never cover it.

* * *

Jonas awoke to someone shaking his shoulder. He let out a barely audible groan as he recognised the throbbing in his head, and remembered being shot and...Daniel. He opened his eyes, expecting to see one of his team, instead coming face to face with the dark eyes of a man he had never seen before.

Jonas sat bolt upright, only just keeping the bout of dizziness he experienced from showing on his face. The man sat back on his heels. He was bigger than Jonas, but the dirt smudges on his dark tan skin, ratty clothes and bare feet suggested that he had not been involved in the ambush on the planet, "I am Renn." The man spoke with a lilting soft accent, a surety in his tone that suggested he was not one to mince his words. He gestured behind him to another figure, curled up in a corner of their dark cell. Squinting in the half-light, Jonas saw it to be a young woman, with the same glittering dark eyes of Renn, and the same night-black hair, "My sister, Kera. She is mute. You will not come near her."

The Kelownan nodded slowly, trying not to be intimidated by who seemed to be a fellow captive, and failing miserably. Although not as large as Teal'c, the man was most definitely someone to be respected, "My name's Jonas Quinn." He swallowed, shifting into a position that he hoped would not seem threatening to the tense man, "Where are we?"

Renn shrugged, moving to sit against the opposing wall beside Kera, his eyes resting almost unblinkingly on Jonas, "I do not know."

When Renn appeared to be no more forthcoming, Jonas continued, "I was with other people – my friends – we were ambushed by these men. Do you know where they might be?"

"Either dead or left behind. They are not here. We were pulled from our village. The men chose us above others. I do not know their reasoning. They shot our brother when he resisted. You were chosen."

Jonas blinked, unsure of the truth of Renn's words, "Who _are_ they?"

"Men with intentions." Was all Renn seemed to be able to say, "We have been here many days. I do know this is a planet. This is all I have been able to tell."

Kera's eyes still followed his every move, and Jonas was getting more unnerved by the second.

And then a door swung open, and a body was thrown in. It groaned as the door was slammed shut, "Ow."

Jonas started, "_Daniel?_"

Sure enough, the figure rolled onto its back, and Daniel's clear blue eyes blinked up at the ceiling before resting on Jonas, "I really hate that damn sarcophagus. Not that I s'pose I should complain."

Jonas let out a nervous laugh. Daniel's eyes flicked to scan the room before once more regarding his teammate "You okay?"

"Depends on your definition of okay." He proceeded in telling Daniel what little he knew, introducing their cellmates. "Do you think they're Goa'uld?"

"They didn't look it..." Daniel grimaced, "Jack's gonna be pissed."

"I think that's putting it mildly." Jonas said ruefully.

A commotion caught their attention, voices drifting through the door. Renn tensed, and after exchanging worried looks, Daniel and Jonas moved back against the wall. The door scraped on its hinges once more, and the noises formed themselves into words, "Just throw them in there! She will decide which cell she wishes to proceed with afterwards!" The commanding voice seemed to be at the end of his patience.

Three figures were thrown roughly in, a dark-haired woman, a stocky sandy-haired man and a tall black boy maybe a little older than Kera. The older man looked dazed, while the other two were more...vocal about their treatment, although the young man seemed to recover from his landing a little faster than the woman, "Have you any idea who I am? You cannot treat me like this! When my father finds me-" The door was slammed firmly in his face. The boy seemed to be in momentary shock from his rather abrupt cut off, before huffing very loudly, and folding his arms, casting his disdainful glare about the cell, "Who are all of you then?"

The woman spoke before they could answer, one eyebrow hiked up and a smirk in place, "Not exactly down with the criminals, are you Beren?"

The boy rounded on her, his voice shrill, "I am not talking to you, Halan! You are nothing but a traitor and a disreputable woman! You should have laid down your life for me, your crown prince, not offered me to those, those...men! And for another matter, you will address me by my full title, the illustrious-"

Once more he was cut off, "Oh shut up you insufferable little twit. And my name isn't Halan, it's Vala. No point keeping that ridiculous name now the con's been blown out of the water – oh, don't look so betrayed, you can't pull it off," she snorted at the shocked prince, "Remind me why you thought this gig was a good idea, Drek?" She addressed the man beside her.

He laughed huskily, "I seem to remember the appeal his father's money had for you. That, and we didn't expect the palace to be attacked midway through the job."

Daniel and Jonas exchanged looks, unsure of what to make of the situation they had found themselves in. Their captors' words had not been reassuring, and they still had little to no idea what they had been caught for. Jonas, however, was far more preoccupied with the immediate issue of how Renn was handling three more additions to the cramped cell, all of whom seemed blissfully oblivious to his darkening expression.

To Be Continued...

Author Notes: So? What did you think? I'd really like to know your thoughts! As updates go, I'll try to keep them regular, probably once a week as exams are looming for me. Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2

Author Notes: Thanks for the kind feedback - I really appreciate it! Hope you like this next instalment.

Chapter 2

Silence had reigned in the little cell for what may have been more than an hour, but without his watch, Daniel couldn't be accurate. It was a complete stalemate. He and Jonas sat in one corner, trying to be as out of the way as possible, while Vala and Drek sat in another, eyes darting frantically between the others. Renn merely sat as a permanent coiled spring, his sister an odd contrast, as she had been the only one to fall asleep. Beren seemed to have decided a dirty floor was unbecoming of him, and was standing the furthest away, nearer the door, twitching every now and again. All they had been able to exchange was names before the untrusting atmosphere had descended.

Daniel, for one, had had enough, "Perhaps you should sit down before you fall down?" His neutral 'negotiator' voice punctured the deafening silence.

All of them, including Jonas, jumped. Even Kera cracked open an eye. "What is it to you?" Beren folded his arms.

Daniel shrugged, "We're all captives. Correct me if I'm wrong, but maybe we should stop being wary of each other and start working out what the hell is going on?"

"Oh, they are clearly trying to ransom me. You'll see." Beren's superior tone had returned.

"It is far more likely they are slavers." Renn spoke, "Or you would be the only one sitting in this cell."

Daniel began to nod, but the woman snorted, "Oh please, isn't it obvious what's going on? Have you all been living in a hole for the past few months? They fit the description of the Hunters. I hate to break the news to you all, but we're in serious trouble here."

Jonas frowned, "Who are the Hunters?"

"Are you dense, or just living a sheltered life? It is a name circulated by some of the human populations." Drek supplied, "No one knows who they are, only that they appeared three months ago and began snatchin' people, killing those they didn't want."

Vala gave a half-laugh, "Yeah, and no one was seen again. Cliché, huh?"

"So we're not the only ones here?"

"Weren't you listening pretty-boy? We're being divided into cells. Groups. And by the way they were talking earlier, I'd say their cells are almost full." Vala snapped.

Silence reigned once more.

* * *

Mistrust combined with a heightened state of worry had kept them awake for the better part of the day – or night, it was hard to tell without any more light than the dim glow from the ceiling – but exhaustion was being to take over. Kera had fallen back to sleep hours ago, while Beren kept jerking awake, having finally succumbed to his fate of sitting on the floor. Vala and Renn were both still relatively alert, although Renn looked drained. Daniel had to note that Drek didn't look that great, although his observation skills were dwindling as his eyes grew heavy. Jonas was not fairing any better. There was only so long a person could stay awake while sitting in a silent, darkened cell.

Just a few seconds, and he'd open his eyes again. Just a few...

Rough hands grabbed him by the arms, and a sharp sting shot through his neck. Daniel cried out. He thought he could hear Vala yelling some profanities, and a dull voice was calling out numbers. Screaming was everywhere – apparently their cell had not been the only one to be woken up. The seven were bundled swiftly down the blurry corridor. There were others, Daniel was pretty sure he bumped into one or two, but whatever they had injected him with had put him off balance, and he found it hard to wake up. He stumbled, and had the intensely unsettling feeling of being in a much larger room than his senses would accept right now. He felt exposed, the lack of glasses only serving to worsen the experience.

"Group 63." A rough voice to Daniel's immediate right grunted out, and he had the vague revelation that the designation must refer in part to him. "All seven fully registered, sir."

"Process them and strip their identifiers. Set them on course." The voice held a mixture of authority and boredom, as if the same words had passed his lips many times already.

Daniel was roughly manhandled to the side, and for a second a masked face swam into view before it blurred away again, to be replaced by a bright light and whirring noise. The rough voice began dictating to someone outside Daniel's field of awareness, "Group 63, Captive 4, male. Acceptable physical health, defective eyes, mild weaknesses in the immune system, recommend rehabilitation on both counts," the voice continued, and it didn't take a genius to know he was being scanned. It was both humiliating and frightening, the drugs only serving to heighten and confuse the experience. Finally, the scan and running commentary ceased. Daniel swayed slightly, "Type A." The last mystifying statement was sealed with a burning pain on Daniel's wrist.

And then Daniel's head was wrenched backwards, and his mouth forced open as a sickly sweet, thick liquid was poured down his throat. He was pretty sure he coughed most of it back up, and was dimly aware of the voice referring to it as his 'daily nutrition ration'.

The rest of the experience passed in much the same way, a blur of colour, sounds and thoughts. He was stripped of his BDUs, and old plain clothes were forced upon him. By the time he was thrown back into the cell, it wasn't surprising that he blacked out almost immediately.

* * *

When Daniel awoke, the only other of their little group to have regained consciousness was Vala. She was picked at loose threads from the sleeve of her new clothes, a look of superior distaste gracing her features. He sat up, and groaned, clutching his head. She smirked, "Worst hangover ever, right?"

"Something like that." He muttered in reply, checking on Jonas, relieved to find his teammate simply unconscious nearby.

"I guess they'll all start waking up soon now you have. What do you think of our new presents?"

"Oh, you know, I don't think brown is my colour." Daniel replied lightly.

Vala snorted, "And the body art?" She hiked up her sleeve, waving her wrist at him. An odd black squiggle – for lack of a better term – burnt brightly and inflamed against the inside of her wrist. "Can't say I care for it much myself."

At her words, Daniel winced, the pain in his own wrist coming to the fore. He regarded his mark closely. It was slightly different to Vala's, "Type A. That's what one of them said before they burnt this on." He was muttering more to himself, but Vala heard anyway.

"Type B for me. I've already looked at the others. You, Drek and that big guy over there all have the same mark, I'm blessed enough share one with His Bratiness, while those two have their own. Any bets going on that being Type C?"

"What the hell is this?" Daniel ran a hand through his hair, "It doesn't make any sense."

"I know, for them to think me and that one are in the same league... Talk about insane."

"Vala." Daniel tried, but one look at her face told him arguing was a lost cause.

As the others awoke, tension and confusion only continued to grow. As per Vala's prediction, Jonas and Kera had been placed as Type C, whatever that was supposed to mean. The news hadn't gone down well with Renn, and Daniel had to admit the idea unsettled him as well. Was it a coincidence that the six of them who had come in pairs had been split up? Could they know he and Jonas were from SG-1? None of it was very promising, but at least they hadn't been sold on to any system lords yet – although Daniel was beginning to wonder whether that was a good thing or not.

* * *

At some point, he must have fallen asleep again, because the next thing Jonas was aware of was a blaring klaxon, and voices trying to attain some semblance of order. Their door was wrenched open, and two masked men yelled out, "Type A! Move!"

Daniel shot him a glance before standing compliantly. At least they weren't trying to drug them this time. Unfortunately, the reason behind this was quickly realised when Renn tried to tackle one of them, only to be brought to his knees by a sharp electric shock that not only hit him, but the rest of them as well. It stopped almost as soon as it started, leaving them all gasping for breath, and Jonas was pretty certain that if they had been able to see the men's faces, they would have been smiling, "One of you causes trouble, your whole Group pays. It would do you good to learn that quickly." And the three Type A men were dragged out.

Vala's lips were set in a thin line, "Well, this could get nasty very quickly, especially if your brother is unable to keep his temper."

None of them had expected Kera to answer, but she did shake her head, and then shrugged, her sharp eyes regarding each of them in turn. Jonas had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but he supposed Renn might. He hadn't been very forthcoming about his sibling, only mentioning how she had been born mute. She must have had to compromise; not that this helped any amongst people who had only met her a day ago.

The noise had only died down for a few minutes before another klaxon sounded, and Vala and Beren were dragged away. Now Jonas was starting to get nervous.

"Type C, let's go."

The last remaining pair of Group 63 was forced out into a large corridor. Door upon door lined the wall, out of which were emerging more humans in pairs or threes. The crowd was suffocating with bodies and panic, their captors making sure they kept moving. Up ahead the corridor got lighter and narrower before it split off three ways. Only one of the ways ahead was open, and the crowd bottlenecked; Jonas lost sight of Kera in the mass. He had an intense feeling of being part of a cattle herd as they were jostled forwards. The crowd moved slowly, forced through five partitions, or stations, where they were stopped by two more men, and force fed that disgusting concoction from the day before. Jonas had a horrible feeling that soon they would be gulping it down if that was all they were going to be given.

Now the crowd had been divided into five, there was more room to breathe. They kept being forced forwards, until a booming, mechanical voice froze many in their tracks. It echoed nastily, "_You are Type C. Your performance is paramount. You fail, your Group fails. Failure is not accepted. Failure will result in removal from the program. You have been chosen. You will not fail._"

The voice kept repeating itself, over and over, so monotonous that it took Jonas a while before he realised the procession had stopped, a closed door preventing them from going any further forwards.

With a jolt, he heard a partition slam behind him, and realised for the first time that there were no masked men.

A hissing sound filled the air, almost lost in the booming of the repetitive voice.

His throat began to seize up, as Jonas' whole body began to feel weak, and his vision greyed. The last thing he was aware of before he passed out was that same voice, repeating over and over.

* * *

When Jonas awoke, his whole body seemed to be in pain. He tried to sit up, but a hand on his shoulder prevented him from doing so, followed by a voice, Daniel, "Lie still. You don't want to be sitting up right now, trust me. How're you feeling?"

"Other than absolute crap, obviously." Vala's voice floated from somewhere nearby.

Jonas cracked open his eyes, shakily using his elbows to prop himself up. A wave of nausea hit him, and he swallowed. Daniel helped him lean against a wall, and he was thankful for the man's continued support, as he was pretty sure he would just have fallen over again.

As the world blinked into focus, he saw that all of them had a drawn aspect to their faces. Kera was lying in her brother's arms, apparently having yet to wake up. "What happened?"

"'_You have been chosen. You will not fail.'_" Vala parroted, causing Jonas to jerk in fright.

"We all got the same treatment I think." Daniel said quietly. He pulled up one of his sleeves to reveal angry red puncture marks and blisters covering his skin, "They did something while we were out."

"Cowards." Drek grunted.

Jonas ignored him, looking at Daniel, "Any ideas? You've been doing this longer than me." They both knew he was referring to SG-1.

Daniel's normally clear eyes were dark and cloudy, "We'll get out of this. They'll find us."

Jonas wished the conviction he heard hadn't been so forced.

To Be Continued...

Author Notes: Any thoughts?


	3. Chapter 3

Author Notes: I'm glad people like this story! Thanks for the support!

Chapter 3

Every day, three klaxons. Every day, that disgusting drink. Every day, that horrible voice. Every day, they woke up as clueless as when they had been knocked out.

In the first few weeks, the humans still put up resistance, much to the guards disgust. More than one time, Jonas and Kera had been waiting in the cell, only to receive a sharp shock as somewhere in another part of the facility Vala made her feelings known. The worst time it happened, maybe the third week in, Daniel had sat with her while the rest of them were sleeping off the day's pain. "You need to stop this."

"I have no idea what you're talking about- Ow!" She jerked away when his clean-up of her head wound touched a particular sore spot; one of the guards had been especially annoyed this time.

"I'm barely touching you." Daniel dismissed, although he brought the strip of bloody cloth to rest in his lap nonetheless. "There's only so long they'll put up with it before they do something more permanent. I know you're not stupid Vala – you know what they mean by 'removal from the program.'"

Vala shrugged, looking determinedly at the floor, "Maybe I want to be removed from the program."

Daniel froze, before roughly grabbing her chin and forcing her to look at him, "You don't mean that. You hear that damn voice as well as I do. We're in this together. One is removed, the whole group is. One fails, we all fail. We're not alone here. You've got us, and if we can get through this, so can you."

By Daniel's standards, it hadn't been his best speech, but it had worked. In the same display of unity that Kera and Jonas had already begun practicing, she made sure to keep a hold of Beren's arm when they were forced out for the day. They may have ended up unconscious regardless, but at least they had not been alone.

Over the weeks, the humans of the facility fell into a state of despondency. They no longer resisted the morning's routine, many often gulping down the ration to stave off hunger. It was not until the sixth week – as counted by Vala's wall tally – that Renn proposed a rather disturbing idea. What if they were not actually unconscious all day? What if they just didn't remember? Injections and tests should not have left their muscles aching as they did, and the way none of them were wasting away from the lack of movement, rather the opposite in fact, suggested something else was going on. There had to be a reason behind all this.

Daniel was inclined to agree. Only a few days after Renn's suggestion, Jonas had woken him up in the middle of the night, frantically bombarding him with questions about the SGC. They had discovered, much to their disturbance, that there were many holes in their memory. They remembered faces, but it was becoming increasingly hard to place names, and gradually, the people and faces were disappearing too. In week eight, Vala revealed she could no longer remember her surname. The others realised they were the same. The facility, their cell and each other had become their past, present and future. They knew they had lost many things, but all the memories were firmly out of their grasp.

Over the weeks, Daniel's eyesight had improved, and was now almost 20/20. He was not the only one to notice changes. Despite the one-day ration, all of them felt stronger, the Type A men especially, while both Vala and Beren had noticed an increasing alertness and reaction time. Jonas and Kera's change was perhaps the most disturbing one. Both would jerk awake a split second before the first klaxon sounded at its full volume, their hearing so much sharper, and both made hardly a sound when they moved, Jonas falling into almost as much silence as the mute girl. As a side effect of this, while Kera still spoke no more than she had on the very first day, her movements were rapidly becoming as easy to read for them as it had been for Renn, a trait that was transferring onto their ability to read each other. Not whole sentences or conversations, of course, but emotions, one-word thoughts displayed as body language in a manner that now seemed so obvious. Somewhere within this change, Daniel had become the person they turned to. Outside of their cell, no one failed to notice the decline in Groups, and this only spurred their sense of unity further.

Gone were the days when, with memories of their individual lives, they kept their distance. They all slept together now, all in one corner of their cell. Not long after, Vala stopped her tally.

Monotony became routine, and so the month, week or day when Jonas shook Daniel awake was unclear. At first Daniel had been mildly surprised – Jonas spoke so little of his own volition nowadays. They had sat quietly in the opposing corner of the cell, so as not to wake the others, waiting for Jonas to speak.

The smaller man bit his lip, eyes uncertain, before he raised them to meet Daniel's, "I woke up today." At Daniel's confused frown, he tried to explain better, "After the gas. I don't think I was very with it, and I don't think they knew I was awake. They were talking about moving me back to the cell."

Daniel's eyes widened, "You remember..?"

Jonas nodded, "They were speaking really quietly, but I could still hear them." He gave Daniel a weak smile, before his face became grim once more, "They were talking about the program reaching its end, and how 'she' would be choosing soon once they had begun the final stage."

"She?" Daniel frowned. All of the guards they had seen were men, from what little they could tell.

Jonas fidgeted, "Daniel, they said something else too. It was like they were listing something."

"What?" Daniel asked the question patiently.

"Two for strength, two for speed, two for stealth." Jonas recited. Daniel paled, and Jonas knew the man understood it the same way he had. He continued, "But there are seven people to a Group."

Nothing more was said other than Daniel telling Jonas to go back to sleep. He himself remained awake until the first klaxon rang out clear.

* * *

They didn't tell the others, and the conversation fell into the background for a few days. Until Drek started to get ill. At first he had just been more tired than usual, but soon his hacking cough kept them awake most nights with worry. And then they all started to feel the effects of whatever it was – and they weren't the only Group either. Nearly every person they walked with in the mornings seemed to be reacting to whatever this illness was.

And then one night, Kera jerked awake, heart beating frantically. To her right, Jonas was already sitting up, while the others slept on. One look at the other man confirmed he had heard something too. She gently extricated herself from Vala's entangled leg and Renn's thick arm, her muscles tense. Jonas followed suit. What had it been? It was bad, both of them knew that. It was far too early to be the morning klaxon.

They focused in the dark silence. There it was again, the same sequence of muffled noises, getting closer, louder. Kera swallowed, reaching behind her and pressing a hand on her brother's collarbone. He awoke immediately, "What is it?" His voice was hoarse from the illness, and his eyes flicked between the pair.

At his words, the others began to wake up groggily. All of them tensed when they saw how agitated Jonas and Kera were, and their worry was only heightened when both flinched simultaneously, as if they could hear something the others could not.

And then they all heard it, causing them to rise to their feet in alarm.

"What is it?" Beren's voice was hushed. Long gone were the days when he was too proud to show his fear.

"I have no idea." Daniel drew his words out, a gentle hand coming to rest on Jonas' shoulder to pull him back to the group, while Renn grasped Kera's arm.

Booted footsteps, and their door was scraped open. Immediately, all seven were blinded by an intense light, preventing them from seeing who was on the other side of the door. "_How are they faring?_"

Daniel had to try very hard not to react to that. The voice was so inhuman, deep and reverberating, but with an oddly feminine quality. And it was so...familiar? His hand on Jonas' shoulder tensed unconsciously. "There are three in Type A, so we gave them a stronger dose of the virus. Types B and C are coping within the acceptable parameters, while Captive 4 within Type A is coping above the average for the dose. Captives 1 and 6 are the worst, with Captive 1 at a marginally better performance rate than 6. Recommend progression to the final stage."

The statistics went right over their heads, although some of the references did jog a few distant memories that belonged at the very beginning.

"_Very good._" It was hard to determine emotion in that voice, but Daniel had a feeling it was satisfied, "_Kill him._"

The command was such a shock that a sizzling yellow light had already impacted Drek in the chest before any of them could react. Vala and Beren caught his fall as Daniel and Renn both leapt forwards in an almost instinctual reaction, only to impact the door as it was slammed shut, both yelling at the tops of their voices before they realised it would be no use.

Vala was talking rapidly to Drek, while Beren seemed to be in shock, having caught the man without actually realising what he was doing. Kera's mouth was open in a silent scream as tears ran down her cheeks; Jonas was holding her back, staring numbly at the dying man on the floor.

Renn bent and gently helped Beren up while Daniel took his place. Vala's voice choked, unable to think of anything more to say as the light left Drek's eyes. She was shaking, practically vibrating with untold anger. Looking up at Daniel without removing her arms from around Drek's neck, her voice was cold, "Why?"

Daniel knew they always expected him to have the answers, and so he replied the only way he could, "They only wanted six."

At some point that night, Jonas, Beren and Kera had fallen into a disturbed sleep, curled up together in a corner. Daniel had managed to finally pull Vala away from Drek so Renn could lay the body against one of the walls. They had nothing to cover him with, only able to close his eyes to show their respect. Renn had moved to sit with the other three, a silent watchdog, and Daniel knew that from now on, he and Renn would be taking turns to sleep. The night wore on, and still Vala would not sleep, her eyes permanently fixed on Drek's body. Finally Daniel was forced to break the silence. He knew Vala, and he would be damned if he would let anything else happen to his family, "Promise me you will be calm tomorrow."

"You know I can't do that." Her tone was emotionless, but Daniel could hear the turmoil beneath.

"So you would vent your anger, and lose Kera? Another one of your brothers? Me?" His voice was calm and soothing.

Vala groaned in confusion and frustration, "But they _killed_ him Daniel! I know he's not the first person I've seen die before, even if they have made us forget, but it was Drek! We can't just do nothing!"

"I doubt we were the only ones to lose someone tonight. I'm sure in some cases whole Groups were removed. I will not let that happen to us. Give me your word, Vala."

Jonas and Kera snapped awake and the first klaxon sounded. Vala sighed, resting her forehead for a second in Daniel's shoulder, "Fine."

* * *

Daniel had been right. The numbers had been severely diminished overnight, and there had been no need to take the Types one by one. Drek's body had been removed some point during the day, and whatever happened to them after they were gassed had intensified, as they had awoken as exhausted as if it was the first month. The number of Groups continued to dwindle, and soon there was no need to split them into five each morning.

Daniel and Renn never slept at the same time again, taking watches over the little sleeping huddle. Sometimes when it was Daniel's turn to watch, his mind would supply him with strange flashes of colour and faces; yellow hair, golden symbols and warm eyes older than their owner. But they were always fleeting, and Daniel could not understand why the simple act of taking watch caused them to appear.

Another week passed before once again Jonas and Kera were jerking awake long before the klaxon was due to sound. Yelling could be heard beyond the walls, and weapons fire.

Daniel and Renn were the first on their feet, just in time to see the door swing open to reveal a beautiful woman in strange, delicate clothes, flanked by two men in heavy armour, both with tattoos on their foreheads. "Quickly!" Her voice was softer than anything they had heard in what seemed like an eternity, "If you want to live, you must come!"

All eyes turned to Daniel, who made the decision in a heartbeat; he barely had to nod before they were all moving out the door in what felt like a bizarrely practiced formation.

The corridor was in chaos. The woman's men were easily besting the men in masks, who were all lying unmoving on the floor. More shots could be heard through the facility. She gestured, and led the way in the opposite direction to where they had always gone before. Vala and Beren were quicker than all of them, pausing at intervals to check and wait for them to catch up.

The woman and her two men guided them to a small room with a circle in the middle of the floor. One of the armoured men dragged the six to stand with her in the middle, as the other punched in something on the wall. A mechanical sound and light, and suddenly they were all standing in an entirely different room, ornate, golden and bright.

They were all in shock. What the hell had just happened? It had all been so fast. Daniel turned to the woman, accepting the unspoken desire of the others that he find out what was going on, "Who are you? Where are we?"

The woman smiled softly, "I am Neith. The facility you were in became known to me recently, and I knew I could not allow it to continue." Her smile widened, and Daniel felt Jonas shudder next to him, although why he wasn't sure. From a quick glance, it looked as if Jonas wasn't sure either.

"Well, thank you." He was unsure of how to continue.

Neith continued to smile, gesturing to her men, "Allow my Jaffa to lead you to some quarters. My ship will have us back on my planet by the time you have slept off the shock of tonight's events."

In a daze, they were led to a large room with beds, full of blankets and cushions. None of them really knew what to do once they were left alone, until Vala took the initiative, stalking forward to grab a few blankets before settling in a corner of the room. Beren sat next to her, and soon Jonas and Kera were sound asleep with them, exhaustion and confusion bringing on sleep whether it was wanted or not. Renn turned to Daniel, "What do you think?"

"Jonas didn't like her."

"It was not a reasoned reaction. More of an effect of the situation?"

"Perhaps." Daniel conceded.

"We need her. We know nothing of the world outside that place, let alone all of what was done to us while we were inside it." Renn paused, "You will make the right decision."

Daniel looked up sharply, before nodding, "I will watch; you were awake before."

Renn nodded, and was soon sleeping lightly against the blankets that covered the other four. Daniel moved to sit cross-legged on a bed, giving himself a view of the door and the sleeping group.

Renn was right, of course. He always was. Still, Daniel could not shake the same nervous feeling he felt when he thought of the ornate hallways, clunking boots of Jaffa and that beautiful smile.

To Be Continued...

Author Notes: Well, things are moving very fast for everyone ;) Hope you enjoyed this installment, and I'd love to hear from you!


	4. Chapter 4

Author Notes: Thanks so much for your messages and feedback! I love reading your guesses too! Hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 4

Daniel ran over what would be expected for the coming day in his mind. It should all be routine; nothing out of the ordinary had happened in quite a few months. Neith had been pleased with their progress.

Having nowhere else to go, she had taken them in, trained them – an activity they had all taken to with surprising ease and aptitude, as if they had all already had some prior training – and made them her personal guard. There were rules, of course. She would not accept anything below exemplary performance, and they had to wear their leather masks at all times when out of their rooms, so as to protect their identities in case their original captors came looking. She also expected silence from them all, only taking reports from Daniel. It was hard, but they were safe, and most importantly, together.

Daniel's eyes flicked to the group, and mentally sighed as Kera jerked awake, dislodging Beren's arm in the process. The lithe young man looked about in bleary confusion before realisation dawned as Kera frantically shook Jonas' shoulders.

Daniel unfolded his legs and got off the chair, falling to his knees in front of them, "Jonas. Jonas, wake up!"

Jonas shuddered awake, shaking, as he had almost every night for months now. A few weeks into their time with Neith, the younger man had begun having nightmares of increasing intensity, each one leaving him unsettled and nervous. He swallowed, trying to gather himself, "Thanks." The word was barely a whisper as he scrubbed his face with his hands.

The others were awake now, all looking at him with the same concern they did every night. Daniel regarded Jonas carefully, "Same dream?"

Jonas nodded softly, "Same woman, same eyes, same voice, same damn lights!" His voice remained quiet, but they could all hear the frustration and bitterness in his tone. Each time it was the same. He would be standing in a swirl of lights as a woman with dark hair and yellow eyes talked to him. Every so often, a little gem on her forehead would glint in the light, while misshapen shadows flittered about in the background. When she spoke, she did so with the voice of the one who had killed Drek. Each time he awoke he was left with an intense sense of _wrongness_.

Daniel knew that out of all of them, Jonas had never accepted their life, never liked or trusted Neith, despite all she had done. It was beginning to show – not enough for anyone else to notice, but they all did. It had a knock-on effect. Kera was permanently on edge, while Vala couldn't go two days without talking to Daniel about it. Soon Neith would notice, and they did _not_ want that. Daniel had to hold back a wince as a particular nasty training session came to his mind.

"You do not slip like that!" The Jaffa had yelled.

"It was a mistake! I'm human, I'll make mistakes!" Beren had yelled back, only to be struck to the floor by a heavy gauntleted hand.

Jonas, who had been standing next to him, had reacted on instinct, punching the Jaffa in the face too quickly to be stopped. Daniel had grabbed him to prevent him from doing something really stupid.

Neith had not been pleased, coming nose to nose with Jonas, hissing in that same soft melodious voice, "You will not behave like that again, boy." Daniel had felt Jonas bristle at the term, and increased his hold to warn the man to stay silent, "You would be back in that cell rotting if it had not been for me. You will show respect, and take your punishment – all of you. Maybe you will learn then that I will not accept mistakes from my men."

They had returned to their rooms exhausted and bloody that evening, well after sunset. That had been that night the dreams had started.

A single bang on their door, and a tray of twelve roughly hewn wooden cups was shoved through the hatch at the bottom. It was forbidden for anyone but Neith and her First Prime Vorell to see their faces, and so their food was delivered anonymously.

Beren rose and went to pick up the tray, wrinkling his nose almost imperceptibly as he handed out the cups. Neith had told them when they first arrived that after living for so long on that nutrition ration, it would be bad for them to return to solid food – not that they remembered it anyway. The only addition to their diet had been water, after Neith had explained that their captors had very likely kept them hydrated by other means when they had been unconscious. They had accepted it at the time, too confused to really comprehend what was going on, and now it was just part of routine.

After Daily Meal, they began to get ready. The early morning sunrise was beginning to shine through the slats in the wooden shutters of their window, and they had to be in the throne room before Neith, their Queen and benefactor. Some even called her a Goddess, although none of them really had an opinion on the matter – all they knew was that they owed her their loyalty.

They washed, their spacious living complex allowing for them to do so quickly without getting in each other's way, and dressed. Their uniform was much simpler than the Jaffa's; light cotton underclothes, with heavier dark over-garments and a cloak. They had no need for armour, as Neith expected them to be too quick to need it, and it would have only hindered their movements anyway. Each wore a dark leather mask emblazoned with the same mark as the Jaffa – like Vorell's, Daniel's mark was gold, and his mask only covered the upper half of his face to allow for him to talk easier with their Queen. Heavy hoods covered the rest of their heads.

They left their rooms with Daniel in the lead, collecting their weapons from the Jaffa at the armoury which sat at the end of their corridor. Neith demanded that they all held both a ceremonial and practical weapon to act as a maximum deterrent for attack. All carried the zat'ni'katel weapon of the Jaffa, while each 'Type' – although they refused to think of that word anymore – carried their own weapon. Daniel and Renn held swords, Vala and Beren carried wooden staffs, while Jonas and Kera had crossbows. Although ceremonial, they were still just as deadly, if not more so, than the zats, and served to create just the impression that Neith desired. Daniel also insisted on the carrying of knives, hidden away, just in case. The Jaffa, Daniel knew, had thought the concept laughable at the beginning, especially Vorell, who held no love for the group. But Neith had insisted, and even the First Prome of the Jaffa would have to begrudgingly admit - not to the six of course - that the low-tech nature of their appearance worked well to his Goddess' advantage, and future plans.

All of this, combined with the rather intimidating image the six conjured, had earned them quite a reputation – not that they were aware of it of course. Neith took them with her wherever she went, to all the planets she controlled, all the prison worker villages for those criminals who could not be allowed to live anywhere else, making themselves useful by mining naquadah for her. She even said that some of those masked men her Jaffa had captured resided in some of these camps, although she never told them who. Daniel found the whole thing unsettling, seeing the men, women and children of these villages, bowing down to Neith. He tried to remind himself that his priority was his own family, and Neith was the only one who could keep them safe, but it didn't stop the nagging doubt.

It was this reputation that would cause today's events. They were on Neith's home planet of Sais, the one she used for her palace, and the one where they had their permanent quarters. When they approached the throne room, Daniel noticed with a horrified jerk that he could hear Neith already- she was awake almost two hours before her usual time!

When they entered, however, she was not angry that they had not been present when she arrived, instead, she smiled, catlike, "Good, you are here. Strangers have come uninvited through the Chappa'ai, wishing me ill intent. They are dangerous criminals, and heavily armed. You are to apprehend and bring them to me, alive if possible."

Vorell, who was standing nearby, clenched his fists, but otherwise did not react, "My Queen, do you think it wise? This is SG-1. My Jaffa-"

"Your Jaffa will back them up." Neith snapped, giving her First Prime such a look that it was surprising he didn't quail. She turned back to the group, "Do not fail me Daniel."

Daniel bowed swiftly, "My Queen." One last look at the odd gleam in her eyes, and he led the others out.

Jonas' mannerisms were strange, as if he was particularly unsettled, and Daniel hoped he would be okay to do this. All the same, even he had to admit how something about that exchange had made him feel decidedly...weird. He wondered what an SG-1 was.

He turned to the blank masked faces before him as they reached the edge of the palace compound. The Chappa'ai was, as planets went, not that far from the palace, and Daniel estimated they had approximately twenty minutes. He nodded to Vala and Beren, "Take point, scope them out, but do _not _engage, wait for us to join you."

The pair nodded once, and took off at a dead run. Daniel regarded Jonas for a second with an unspoken question. The man simply shrugged, and without any more orders, the four moved out, an act which only served to the unnerve the Jaffa who were preparing to be deployed after them; Neith personal bodyguards, unique among the System Lords, were steadily becoming the stuff of Jaffa legend, even though they had only been in her service for barely a year.

* * *

Vala crouched in the undergrowth, watching the strike team move with what they must have thought was stealth. There were nine in all. Seven were human, dressed in dark colours, each carrying a strange black weapon in front of them; six men, one woman. Another was a large black Jaffa. He moved with surety and true stealth. The last was an older man dressed in brown tan colours. He too moved with ease, and she bristled upon recognising him; Tok'ra, Neith's enemy and the troublemakers of the galaxy. Murderers and assassins.

She knew Beren was nearby, but it was not until she heard a purposeful crack, just out of sync with the intruders' footsteps that she knew the others must be too. Sure enough, she caught a glimpse of movement in the lower growth a little way behind the group; Jonas and Kera. She tensed, waiting for the signal.

Two zat charges took down the men at the back with deadly accuracy, and the group dropped to the ground. Vala would have grudgingly appreciated their skill and reaction time if she had been bothered. She leapt up, taking out another with her own zat, only to have it knocked from her grasp as the Jaffa tackled her to the ground. Her size, combined with a hefty blow with her staff to his head allowed her to roll away.

"It's them!" The Tok'ra yelled, "We need to fall back!" He was silenced by Renn's zat.

Their rattling weapons unnerved Vala. Unlike staff weapons, where you had slight warning, there was no chance in dodging these rounds, and she stifled a cry as a sharp pain exploded in her upper arm. She took the momentum and rolled, taking cover behind a tree. _Thunk._ Her attacker was taken down with a bolt from Kera's crossbow. The girl had clearly take offence on Vala's behalf, discarding her zat. Well, Neith had said alive _if possible_.

Six were down, but were unfortunately the remaining three, although disarmed, were still rather good at defending themselves without their strange black weapons. She risked a peek. Renn, Kera and Beren were under good cover, while Daniel was occupied with two men. Frantically, she tried to find Jonas, and mentally swore despite herself when she saw him. That was why Daniel was fighting so irrationally – he was the only one close enough to Jonas to be any good.

The Jaffa that Vala had knocked to the ground was on his feet again, and she saw how Jonas had recovered Beren's staff in an effort to stave off the much larger man's attacks. Damn. Jonas was the worst out of all of them at staff-fighting.

Daniel whirled, knocking down one of the men as the woman came at him, turning in time to see the grey-haired man who he had been originally staving off run away to help the Jaffa, knocking Jonas hard across the head from behind with the butt of his gun. The smaller man slumped to the ground, unmoving. At least the intruders seemed as interested in taking them alive as Daniel did them, although it was becoming increasingly difficult to restrain himself.

There was the sound of twenty staff weapons snapping open, "Ah, crap." The grey-haired man muttered, raising his hands above his head as the Jaffa threw his staff to the ground. The woman froze. The rest of the attack team had been neutralised.

Daniel threw his sword to the ground, half-forgetting protocol, and skidded to his knees in front of Jonas. He could feel the eyes of the grey-haired man burn into the back of his head just as he knew the others were re-grouping while the Jaffa held their position warily.

He found a pulse, but could do no more with the _stupid _mask Jonas was wearing. Screw the rules, he needed to know their brother was okay. He flicked his knife into his hand, and cut through the cord easily, not bothering with the clasp. As Jonas' face was revealed, Daniel completely missed the sharp intake of breath from the grey-haired man, and did not see the wild look he gave the Jaffa and the woman. A gash ran just beneath Jonas' hairline, flowing into a deepening bruise where the blow had partially impacted the mask. Eyelids flickered, and he opened his mouth to try and rouse the man, when a hand clenched down on his shoulder, wrenching him to his feet. It was Vorell, "You are out of line!" Immediately, Daniel's knife was at the Jaffa's throat, and a clicking indicated that a crossbow was now levelled at the First Prime. The Jaffa smirked, as if something he knew had been confirmed. He released Daniel, "Fine. Have it your way. She can deal with you. Jaffa, _kree!_"

The Jaffa moved forwards, dragging the ones Daniel's team had shot or knocked down to their feet as they began to come round; Kera's crossbow victim was left behind. Daniel turned, noticing now how the grey-haired man did not take his eyes off Jonas even as he was led away. Neither did the woman, or the Jaffa. Did they know? Could they have been involved in their first capture? Somehow affiliated with the masked men? Daniel's stomach clenched, but he shoved the feeling aside, quickly assessing the others. Vala was clasping her arm, but a nod told him she was okay. Kera and Beren had collected their weapons, while Renn was knelt next to Jonas, who was starting to regain consciousness. "Jonas?" Daniel murmured, "Do you think you can sit up for me?"

Jonas' eyes opened, but they were unfocused, and he seemed unsure of where they were, so much so that he even muttered the half question, "Where..?"

"Not now. Come on, I need you to stand up for me." With Renn and Daniel's help, Jonas was upright, but Daniel couldn't stop his eyes from lingering on the sluggishly bleeding head wound. They began the trek back to the palace, following just within sight of the Jaffa procession up ahead.

Daniel tried to just think of putting one step in front of the other, and not Neith's reaction when they returned.

To Be Continued...

Author Notes: So what did you think? I wrestled with myself for days on the subject of their weapons, but in the end decided that the point was to make them as different from the Jaffa as possible, so stuck with my original idea. Sorry if you find it a bit...well, I can't really think of the word which describes it, but I hope you get what I mean. So, SG-1 has arrived back in the story! Just so everyone's got an idea where we are, as I noticed one review seemed to be under the impression all the other chapters lasted around month, we'll say for simplicity purposes that chapter 1-3 spanned about ten months, while this chapter, including the time jump, ran for just over three months. So they've been gone a rather long time.

Finally (I'll shut up in a minute), in early Egyptian religion, Neith was a pre/early dynastic regional goddess of the town of Sais in the Delta, and was the goddess of warfare and hunting. Her typical representative symbol was two crossed arrows over a shield, so for the purpose of your imaginations, that's what the Jaffa symbol would most likely be. If Daniel and Jonas had not been kidnapped, no doubt they would have given that explanation to a very bored Jack :P

Anyway, I lalways enjoy reading any thoughts/comments you might have, so a minute of your time to get in touch would be loved!


	5. Chapter 5

Author Notes: Thanks for all your feedback - SG-1 are finally back in the action! Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 5

"Dad!" Sam grinned as she hugged her father in the gateroom of the SGC, "How are you?"

"As good as ever." The man smiled, before nodding to the other two men, "Jack, George."

"Social call?" Jack's hands were in his pockets in a typical O'Neill posture.

The Tok'ra gave a half-smile, "I wish."

General Hammond nodded, "Shall we? I'll have Teal'c join us."

They headed straight to the briefing room. The Tok'ra called so rarely nowadays that it usually put them all on edge. When Teal'c had arrived, and they were all seated, Jack gestured at Jacob, "So?"

"We have a serious problem." Jacob's tone was grim.

"When don't we?" Hammond sighed, gesturing for Jacob to explain.

"As we know, Anubis has been taking a back seat of late. His obsession over the Ancients has put him in an increasingly weakening position. With the failure of the super-soldiers, he's been forced to regroup, and in his absence, a new System Lord is growing ever rapidly in power."

"Ba'al?" Teal'c questioned.

"No, Neith."

"Neith?" Jack quirked a very Teal'c-ish eyebrow, "Never heard of him."

Jacob bowed his head, allowing Selmak to the fore, "_She has not been active for a very long time, not since before the fall of Ra._"

"Oh, I really hate those pre-Ra guys. So damned up themselves."

"_Perhaps. Nevertheless, her powerbase has grown incredibly, and unlike some of her predecessors, she is prepared to wait rather than striking without plan. The planets under her command are growing in number, and it seems she has a new weapon, one that the other System Lords do not._"

Jack perked up, "What kind of weapon?"

"_Six people. We know they are not Jaffa, but they are skilled fighters. Their appearance and presence at her side have instilled incredible fear into many populated planets. They are an unusual tactic, and one we do not like._"

Sam frowned, "Just six people?"

Selmak gave back control to Jacob, "The Council is worried. These people have killed five of our operatives already, almost as if they can just tell by looking that they are spies. Not only that, but just the simple unusual nature of these people has thrown the System Lords off kilter."

"What's so scary about six bodyguards?" Jack was having trouble working out why this was so important.

Jacob regarded him calmly, "Because they carry not only Goa'uld weapons, but primitive human ones too. They wear dark cloaks, and no one has heard them speak, or even seen their faces because of the masks they always wear. Like Jaffa, they carry the mark of Neith, their leader has a gold mark on his mask like a First Prime, and yet they are, as far as we can tell, still human. And they have a higher death count on their hands than some of the most seasoned Jaffa."

Jack winced, while Hammond placed his palms on the table, "What do you propose?"

"We know Neith is currently on Sais, her home planet. The Tok'ra Council suggest trying to capture one of them. If we could have a look, we might have a better idea of what we're dealing with, or if she's planning on getting more."

"And you need us because?" Jack waved a hand in a circular motion.

"We're stretched thinly as it is-"

Jack threw up his hands, "Of _course_ you are!"

Jacob cut across him, "To catch one of these people needs a strike team! If you help, you would have full jurisdiction, and cooperation from us in the analysis stage. Our intel has shown that she is not expecting infiltration so close to home. We'd have stealth and surprise on our side."

Jack sighed, "General?"

Hammond sighed, looking at his old friend, "These people are really this much of a threat?" Jacob nodded, "Okay, Jack, I want you and SG-3 to move out as soon as possible. Jacob?"

"We'd like to be a part of this, yes." He spoke on behalf of himself and his symbiote.

"Very well, dismissed."

* * *

Jack waited for the Marines to fully check their gear, rolling his eyes theatrically. Reynolds' team were five in number, another subtle hint from Hammond that he thought a three man team was not enough for Jack. He tried not to react as Carter came to stand at his side; it had been over a year now since he had lost two members of his team at the same time, and still he expected one or both of them to come running in late. He had point blank refused to accept another teammate, stating in no uncertain terms that if they needed an anthropologist, negotiator or – god forbid – an archaeologist to join them on a specific mission, then they could, but they would not deploy each and every time with SG-1. It would not happen. Ever again. End of.

Finally, they were all set, and Walter was intoning the chevrons as the Stargate spun. It plumed open, and, after a UAV was deployed to confirm the area around the forest gate as empty, Jack signalled for them to move out.

They moved silently and alert through the forest, Teal'c taking point. Jack was perplexed at the lack of resistance – surely the snake wasn't that confident of the fear it instilled?

He had thought too soon. Zats discharged from nowhere, taking out two of SG-3, and they all hit the ground on instinct, diving for cover. Down went Peterson as a masked figure leapt out of the undergrowth, only to be taken down themselves by Teal'c. Jacob's voice rang through the crisp air, "It's them! We need to fall back!" And then he was felled by another zat charge.

Teal'c was knocked to the ground, but Bosco managed to get in a shot at one of them from his position. A sickening crunch as a metal bolt met flesh, and the Marine fell down dead with the retaliation of their attackers. Jack mentally swore. There may have only been six, but they seemed to have them completely surrounded.

Teal'c was on his feet again, and pushing back another one –or perhaps the same one, with the masks it was hard to tell. And then a new one joined the fray. This one had to be the leader, with his half mask and gold symbol. He took on Jack and Reynolds simultaneously, while Carter lay down cover fire against the rest of the ambushers.

Teal'c was being pushed back again, and Jack took the opportunity to break away from the First Prime human as Reynolds was knocked to the ground and Carter launched an attack. He grabbed a P-90 from the forest floor, knowing it to be empty, and brought it swinging, down on the masked attacker's head. He slumped to the ground out cold.

Success was short lived as the sounds of multiple staff weapons opening filled the air, and Jack turned to find themselves truly surrounded, "Ah, crap." He raised his hands in surrender as Carter followed suit and Teal'c threw his staff to the ground with distain.

And then something happened that Jack had not expected.

As soon as their surrender was realised, the First Prime human had dashed forwards, discarding his weapon carelessly, to kneel by his companion. Jack exchanged a confused look with Carter, noticing how the First Prime Jaffa's neutral expression mutated into a glower. This was just...weird.

A flash of silver, and the man used his knife to cut away the mask so he could check for further injury. Jack very nearly swore, and it was only his shock that prevented him from doing so. Jonas Quinn was lying unconscious on the root-entwined grass. This realisation was quickly followed by another – Jonas had been holding his own against _Teal'c_? A sick feeling had rested in Jack's stomach. They had found Jonas after over a year of lost hope, but who had they actually found? After what Jacob had said about this group...

Any further thought was cut short by the Jaffa First Prime striding forwards and hauling the human leader to his feet. "You are out of line!" Jack could practically taste the tension as the half-masked leader whipped a knife to rest at the Jaffa's throat and another of the masked team raised their deadly crossbow. Apparently these two groups didn't play well together. The look the Jaffa pulled onto his face unnerved Jack, and he wasn't even the one it was directed at. To his credit, the human did not react, only loosened his hold on the knife as the Jaffa released him, "Fine. Have it your way. She can deal with you. Jaffa, _kree!_"

Jack could do nothing more other than allow himself to be fully disarmed and led away.

* * *

The remaining eight were forced to their knees in the disgusting gold throne room. Both Jaffa and some of the masked humans took up positions behind them. Jack was mildly surprised to see that the hand clenched down on his shoulder was that of a woman. Obviously this Neith was more into equal opportunities than some.

His eyes slid over the scene. The Goa'uld was the typical beauty, covered – or not so covered, depending on how you looked at it – in unnecessarily elaborate clothes, with an expression not uncommon to someone who had just swallowed a lemon. Jonas stood off to the side, looking strangely small as he slumped against a larger masked man; the lack of facial features on the latter making him just seem all that much bigger.

The First Prime human stepped forwards to stand by the First Prime Jaffa. The Goa'uld surveyed the pair from her seat, "Explain."

Jack quirked an eyebrow. No scary voice? Maybe she had a sore throat. The human bowed his head, his hood falling further forwards. The Jaffa had no such problems, "Jonas failed. He allowed himself to be bested by a human." Jack's stomach plummeted. There went any possibilities of a simple look-alike.

"And the mask?"

"Removed." The pleasure in the Jaffa's voice made Jack's skin crawl.

The Goa'uld rose gracefully, gliding down the steps to come face to face with Jonas, "I told you I would not tolerate failure. If you are so incompetent that you are unable to handle Tau'ri without faltering, they you are useless to me." She took Jonas' chin in her manicured nails, "Pity."

She released him, and Jack saw Jonas blink furiously as she moved away. He winced guiltily. One hell of a concussion by the looks of it. Neith turned to the human leader, "Kill him."

Jack jerked as the hand on his shoulder clenched painfully. All masked heads whipped away from their blank staring point on the floor or walls to rest on the snake. Fleetingly, Jack remembered the leader's reaction when they had knocked Jonas down, and couldn't help but think Neith didn't have as much control over the team as she seemed to think.

The leader seemed too much in shock to react, and the Goa'uld glared, her anger seeming to elevate further with the presence of the SG-teams as witnesses, "I'm giving you an order. Failure is not accepted!"

A sharp intake of breath above Jack, and the hand increased in pressure. The fingers of the human leader twitched.

Her eyes glowed in anger, and Jonas visibly jolted. "_Kill him!_" There was that voice they all knew and loved.

And then the temperature in the room seemed to drop a few degrees, and the hand holding Jack released its hold.

A blur of movement, and the masked human leader had drawn his sword and plunged it into the snake's stomach, severing right through both the host and symbiote's spinal cords. A look of mild surprise crossed her features before she slumped down, dead.

The rest of the Jaffa, including the First Prime, were dead before Jack could even blink.

Jack couldn't know it, but Neith had just revealed once and for all who had killed their brother, and Group 63 had not been about to let her take another. Now, or ever again.

* * *

"-Failure is not accepted!" Vala jerked, the words ringing round in her head, so familiar. So hated.

She was not the only one to see the parallels of the words. Daniel's whole body had grown taut, while Renn's head had angled itself slightly lower as he kept a tight hold on Jonas.

When Daniel still did not act on the words, unable to believe what she was ordering him to do, Neith's eyes glowed gold. Vala blinked in shock as Jonas jumped in fright.

Just like the nightmare.

And then, "_Kill him!_" Two words, and Vala was back in the cell, Drek dying before her eyes.

It had been her.

All along, it had been her. An elaborate process to ensure a set of unique bodyguards that would be loyal to their 'rescuer'. An experiment.

Daniel's reaction spurred her own as she zatted the Jaffa to her left.

Vala was breathing hard, from both the shock and adrenaline of what had happened. Her arm had started bleeding again, blood seeping steadily through Beren's makeshift bandage.

No one knew what to do. Were these people really as much of a threat as Neith had told them, or had that been another lie? Should they kill them too, just to be sure? All eyes turned to Daniel, who still stood over the woman's body. His posture screamed at them to be very careful.

Do not remove your masks.

Do not say a word.

We are not safe.

The grey-haired man twitched slightly, and she saw him exchange a glance with the Tok'ra by his side. He cleared his throat, and all eyes were on him, "I guess you just realised what bastards the Goa'uld really are, huh?" His tone was purposefully light. Daniel's grasp tightened on his blade, an act that did not go unnoticed by anyone in the room. The man grinned disarmingly, "Look, we're not big fans of people like your old boss over there. We can help you. It's either that, or you go and work for someone like Ba'al, and after the way you terminated this employment, I can't see him jumping at the prospect. Let us go, come with us. We can help you."

Daniel wasn't sure how to react to the plea. All he knew was that there was something about this man's voice that seemed oddly trustworthy. But it had been he who had decided they would stay with Neith, and look how that one had turned out. The blonde woman's eyes still hadn't left Jonas, "Some of you need medical attention. We can give you that."

It was true. Daniel was pretty sure the blow to Jonas' head had left him more than just momentarily dazed, and Vala was definitely favouring her left arm.

He glanced at Renn. The man gave a barely perceptible shrug of one shoulder, while Jonas leaned on the other.

After what seemed to be an age, Daniel nodded his consent.

To Be Continued...

Author Notes: So what do you think?


	6. Chapter 6

Author Notes: Once again, I must thank you all for your lovely reviews :)

Chapter 6

Getting out of the palace had been by far a simpler task than Jack had anticipated. It was such a bizarre thought to know these six humans – Jonas included – could instil so much fear that a whole army of Jaffa would let them pass unhindered. Not only that, but the masked group had yet to speak word; the Jaffa just took it on faith that they were moving the prisoners for a reason. They had even been able to retrieve a GDO.

Jack couldn't help but continuously sneak glances at Jonas, and he knew the others were doing the same. As soon as they were back under the cover of the forest, Jack noted how Jonas leant more and more on the man by his side. A glance at Carter confirmed his fears; there was something else there than just your average concussion. One of the women – Jack had now determined there were two in the group – was also having trouble, bleeding badly from a bullet wound in her arm.

It did not escape Jack's notice that the six of them, minus Jonas, were still the only ones to carry a weapon, leaving O'Neill and his team at a severe disadvantage.

By the time they reached the Stargate, Jack knew he could not dial Earth. Without a radio to confirm, he knew he couldn't just take six armed people through that wormhole, regardless of the situation. General Hammond was expecting one unconscious soldier, not a whole fully aware strike team, "Jacob?"

It was the first time any of them had spoken a word since leaving the palace. The Tok'ra eyed the tense leader standing so close to Jack, "Yes?"

"We need a planet. A safe one so we can let Hammond know what's going on."

Jacob nodded, moving forward to the DHD, drawing on Selmak's extensive knowledge to dial an address. It would lead to an uninhabited world, perfect as a midway site. As the Stargate plumed into life, Jack gave Reynolds a nod, which the Marine acknowledged with a booming voice, "Alright, men, move out!" SG-3 strode purposefully forward, taking with them the body of their fallen comrade.

Jack gestured theatrically towards the masked leader, "After you."

* * *

Daniel tensed. If he led them through the Chappa'ai, then there would be no going back. He had no idea what would be waiting on the other side, and in truth, he had nothing more than Neith's betrayal to even suggest these people did not mean them harm. And there was still the very unsettling way they kept looking at Jonas.

Beren stepped silently to his side, and he knew now that they had to go. There was no going back; Vala and Jonas needed help that they could no longer receive from the palace. He gave a barely perceptible nod, and they all moved forwards in unison. The grey-haired man looked unnerved, although he clearly thought he was hiding it well. Good. It meant they were not completely defenceless.

A rush brought them standing in a clearing much like the one they had just left. The hard faced man had followed the lead of the Tok'ra, setting up a camp of sorts just within the trees, laying the body of Kera's victim down. Renn led Jonas a good distance away, helping him sit down so he could to lean against a tree, before rising to watch the rest of the strangers come through the Chappa'ai. Kera crouched down next to Jonas, her eyes glinting worriedly from behind her mask, while Vala batted away Beren's attempt to redress her wound in annoyance.

They were all thinking the same thing. Something was very wrong with Jonas, made all the more dangerous by him being without a mask. The grey-haired man was giving orders to the others, "SG-3, I want you to report back, tell Hammond of the changes in the situation." Daniel could hear the other man trying to raise a protest, but he was cut off, "I don't want to hear it, Reynolds. We need to get to the bottom of this, and that's final."

The man gave a sharp nod, but he didn't look happy about it. The four men began dialling out to a different address, taking the body with them, leaving behind the leader, the woman, the Jaffa and the Tok'ra.

The grey-haired man gave the Jaffa a nod, and he left, presumably to secure the perimeter. The Tok'ra had settled to start a fire before the rapidly encroaching night set in, while the leader brought the woman over to them. "This is Major Carter. If you let her look over Jonas and your other friend-"

Vala would have leapt at the man for using Jonas' name if Beren had not stopped her. Daniel held up a hand to her, and she stilled. The man looked unnerved once more, "Okay. Right. Well, I'm Colonel Jack O'Neill, commander of SG-1. Both of them need a doctor, but until that time, Carter can handle it. We're not going to hurt you. Maybe you could show a little faith by putting your weapons down? We're unarmed, and I've sent those men back to negotiate help for you. Please."

O'Neill's eyes kept flicking down to where Jonas sat, and Daniel could see the honest worry and concern in them. There was something more going on, that was certain, but perhaps, if they were lucky, it was not malevolent. He nodded slowly, placing his sword down next to Jonas. The others reluctantly followed suit, although, not surprisingly, Vala refused, keeping hold of her zat and folding her arms, despite the pain it must have caused her.

The Colonel shrugged, obviously knowing it was probably the best he was going to get. He moved off to help the Tok'ra while the woman – Carter – began to check Jonas over.

* * *

The camp had split in two, with Renn and Teal'c at either end, guarding their respective charges. Jack turned to Carter and Jacob. Darkness had fallen not too long ago, and he knew the SGC would soon be contacting them with news, "What do you think?"

Jacob sighed, "Honestly? I have no idea. Aside from the ridiculous scenario of that being Jonas, those people are highly trained, and were clearly loyal to Neith before we came along, which begs why the change of heart?"

Sam watched the little masked huddle, her eyes never leaving Jonas, "Because she asked them to kill him. Look at them. They move like they're one person."

"Yeah, it's creepy." Her father conceded.

Jack shifted, "How bad is he?"

Sam sighed in frustration, "It would help if they would talk for a start, but it's not good. The concussion has, if anything, gotten worse. He threw up an hour ago, and his eyes are becoming more and more unfocused. We need to get him to the infirmary."

"Even if we do, there's no chance they'll let anyone near him." Jacob stated. "And he obviously doesn't remember us, or he wouldn't have been going at Teal'c like he had been back there."

There was a flurry of movement at the other camp, and Jack looked up to see the smallest of the group – one of the women – frantically shaking Jonas by the shoulders, "Shit!" Jack scrambled to his feet, running over to the group, closely followed by the others.

Jonas' eyes were rolled back into his head, and his nose was bleeding in a picture horribly similar to a scenario a long time previous, when he had been in SG-1. Sam bent down, only to freeze as the other woman's zat gun hissed into life. She held her hands up in a placating gesture, and backed up to stand by Teal'c, "He needs medical attention, sir, _now!_ He could die."

Jack bit his lip, knowing Carter wouldn't over exaggerate, but at the same time knowing he couldn't in good conscience bring these people to the SGC. If he could, he would just take Jonas, but he knew that would never be an option. He shook his head, "We can't risk it." He ran a hand through his hair, "I'm sorry, you're too much of a security risk." He almost choked on the words. This was going to feature in his nightmares, of that he was certain.

The smallest one was still trying to rouse Jonas. No one seemed to know what to do, and Jack wished that damn 'Gate would come to life with news, but it had only been an hour.

And then the leader ripped back his hood and wrenched his mask up to sit on the top of his head. If Jonas had been a shock, then ice blue glare that now bore into Jack unhindered almost gave him a stroke, "You said you would help us! Or are you just as much of a liar and murderer as Neith? You say Jonas will die, and yet you do nothing but _talk_. Please, all I ask is that you keep your word. Help us, help our brother. If you are truly good people, then we will not harm you, but I won't let you stand there and pretend you are helpless, Jack O'Neill!"

Sam was as pale as a ghost, "Daniel?"

He seemed not to hear, only glaring at Jack. Her utterance had been so quiet in fact that only the small masked woman by Jonas had whipped her head round in shock.

Jack swallowed, unable to take his eyes off the man before him. How the hell did Daniel have this many lives? At least there had always been the possibility of Jonas still being alive...but Daniel? It had taken Jack so long to accept it as a hated truth, and yet, accept it they all had, thinking Daniel had finally run out of luck that fateful day in the forest.

And yet he was no fool. He saw in the eyes nothing more than a plea for help, a worried terror. No recognition, no indication of any memory that might link them together. The speech had sure as hell been Daniel, but everything else?

He wouldn't. He couldn't. Screw the rules – he had enough times before. "Carter, dial us out."

Daniel's eyes never left his, "Thank you."

* * *

"Unscheduled offworld activation." Harriman's voice rang through the control room as Hammond strode in, having come directly from the briefing room, Reynolds at his side.

"Report."

"It's SG-3's IDC, sir."

Reynolds nodded, "We left it with Colonel O'Neill."

General Hammond had to bite back a groan. Trust Jack to be unable to wait. SG-3's report had been strange enough, he just wished he had been allowed time to process it, especially the news about Jonas Quinn. That was apparently not to be, "Open the Iris."

The metal disc scraped open, and Jack came through almost immediately with Teal'c by his side. The Jaffa was carrying an unmoving body, and Hammond knew it was Jonas, even before Jack had opened his mouth to call urgently for a medical team. He strode down into the Gateroom to see Jacob Carter come through, shortly followed by five masked figures. The final person to come through was Major Carter, and she kept giving the one with the golden marked mask disbelieving looks.

The most worrying thing was that all of the masked people were armed, "Colonel?" He let his voice show the anger he felt. What the hell was his 2IC playing at?

"Trust me General." Jack's eyes met his, and he had a feeling there was something more to this.

As Teal'c placed Jonas' body on a gurney, the smallest of the five jerked forwards, only to be gently held back by the one with the half-mask. Leaving her with the group, he strode purposefully down, placing a firm hand on Jack's arm, asking an unspoken question. The Colonel nodded, "You all need to come to the Infirmary anyway to get checked over."

"Under armed escort." Hammond interjected, "And you will relinquish your weapons,"

Jack shrugged at the leader, "You want our help. Trust us."

Doctor Fraiser watched the exchange, tense, desperate to get her patient into her domain. The man hesitated, before releasing his hold, watching warily as Jonas was whisked out of sight.

There was a pause, when nobody moved or spoke, but then the small one who had moved earlier took her knife from her belt and unstrapped her crossbow, laying both on the metal ramp. Her masked face watched Jack and the other man unwaveringly, as if she knew something no one else did. The others soon followed her lead, except for one, who continued to keep a tight hold of her zat. It was not until the half-masked leader actually went up and removed it from her grasp that she moved, clearly the least happy with the situation.

Hammond glowered, nodding to one of the soldiers nearby, "Escort our guests to the Infirmary and have Dr Warner take a look at them. And will someone get these weapons out of my sight? Colonel, you and your team will make your way up there as well." His tone left no room for argument, and Jack had the decency to wince. Turning to the newcomers, he nodded sharply, "My name is General Hammond, and I am the commander of this base. Welcome to the SGC, and Earth."

With the badly veiled sharp dismissal, the Gateroom steadily emptied. Jack lingered behind, "For what it's worth? There's a helluva good reason for this."

Hammond shook his head in disbelief, "It will have to be a really good one this time, Colonel."

Jack seemed to take that statement in, pausing as he assessed it with whatever it was he had just seen. He nodded slowly, his eyes fixed on a point on the floor before they refocused on his commanding officer, "Oh yeah. I'd say this one makes the top three."

George watched Jack go, frowning at Reynolds, who simply shrugged.

Hammond shook his head, strolling smartly from the room, intent on pursuit. After a reaction like that one, he wasn't just going to wait for them to come to him.

To Be Continued...

Author Notes: So they're back home :) The reasons behind Jonas' condition will be unravelled in due course...as will everyone else's revelations over Daniel! On to another note, as you've probably worked out, I tend to update on Fridays or Saturdays. Because all my exams are next week, followed by me being away for the weekend, I'm delaying the next update until the Monday. If you still haven't seen an update by the Tuesday, assume I've forgotten, and let me know so I can get it to you! Alternatively, I _might_ be able to get it up on the Thursday, but no promises...Anyway, thanks for reading, and please let me know what you thought if you can spare a moment!


	7. Chapter 7

Author Notes: Once again, thanks for the feedback, and for not complaining about the slight wait :)

Chapter 7

Doctor Warner was not having fun. SG-1 had been fine to check over, and he had already sent them to be debriefed by a very disgruntled General Hammond. It had even been relatively easy to disinfect and stitch up the bullet wound on the arm of one of the aliens, as it had only been a flesh wound. And then he had hit a brick wall – not entirely literally, but close enough, as it took the shape of two rather large masked men.

They refused to speak a word, they refused to remove their masks, and when he had tried forcibly, the littlest one of the five had grabbed his wrist in such a grip he had thought it was going to break. It was then that one of the armed escorts had stepped in, and suggested they wait for Hammond to get back up here. Unfortunately, whatever he had to say to the SGC's flagship team was apparently taking a long time, as it had already been three hours, the only indication that something was happening being the doubling of men guarding the room. They had even tried moving the five to a secure holding cell, as Warner had been unable to fully examine them, but that had been just as unsuccessful.

In the end, nearing four hours since they had been dumped in his lap, it had come down to a staring match, one which the patient Doctor was steadily losing. He was about to give in, and march down to see General Hammond himself when there was movement at the door. All five tensed, while Warner could have cried with relief, "Doctor Fraiser! Thank goodness. How did the surgery go?" He kept his tone light before he pleaded for help.

The woman looked worn, giving him and the group of five a wan smile, "Jonas should pull through. The blow to his head caused some inter-cranial bleeding, and there was abnormal clotting behaviour in his blood; General Hammond had to call in some help for a specialist the situation had progressed so far." She scrubbed her face, before finally actually realising she had five masked and cloaked aliens sitting in her Infirmary, "Why are they still here?"

Warner shrugged, "I couldn't get them to co-operate, and both General Hammond and Colonel O'Neill have been rather scarce."

Janet resisted the urge to roll her eyes, "Jonas is in the post-op room down the hall, maybe you could check on him while I take over here? I've already informed General Hammond."

She could tell her colleague was relived as he muttered a contrite, "Yes, of course."

Narrowing her eyes and putting on the voice she usually reserved for dealing with SG-1, she faced the group, "Okay, my name is Doctor Fraiser. As was explained to you when you arrived, all incoming travellers through the gate are required to submit to a medical examination. Jonas is fine. He is not going anywhere, and the sooner you get the all clear from me, the sooner you can see him, because there is no way in hell I am letting you near someone who has just had brain surgery when you could be carrying any kinds of contaminants. So, first things first, cloaks and masks off – I can't give you the all clear from examining your hands." At first nobody moved. She increased the level of her glare and placed her hands on her hips, "Sometime this century would be nice."

The smallest one hopped off the bed on which she had been perched, shrugging off her cloak. A hand tried to stop her, but she had already unclasped her mask and thrown it on the bed before he got halfway. She gave Janet a soft smile while the doctor struggled not to react. It was hard to believe one as slight as she could garner herself such a reputation. She was much younger than Janet would have suspected, and would not have looked out of place on Abydos. A barely audible sigh and the owner of the hand followed suit. At a glance, the doctor would say this man was a relative of the girl; same eyes, same expression. She raised a pointed eyebrow at the remaining three.

"Well, who am I to deny such a polite woman the honour of looking at my face?" An amused voice was soon matched with the face of a dark-haired woman with intelligent eyes, "Boys, be gentlemen." She elbowed the man next to her, who complied and removed his mask along with his shorter companion.

Janet was very hard pressed not to scream. A hand on her shoulder made her jump. It was Colonel O'Neill, "You're not dreaming. I've spent the last four hours trying to explain this. Trust me."

Doctor Fraiser swallowed, regarding the man who looked exactly like Daniel Jackson. The man shifted under the attention, "The sooner you examine us, the sooner we can see Jonas." A not-so-subtle hint. Janet nodded weakly, ordering her equally shocked nurses into action. No doubt the whole of the SGC would know of the return of the two lost members of SG-1 by dinner.

The work was quick. Doctor Warner had done a good job with the woman's arm, and apart from that, they were all in peak physical condition. She noted in the back of her mind how Daniel seemed to be able to see perfectly well. When she was done, she turned to O'Neill, who was still waiting, "Well? Where's General Hammond?"

Jack, who had been watching from the opposing wall, looked grim, "He's arguing with a shed-load of stuck up Tok'ra, with the Pentagon on the phone, while the IOA are crawling up people's backsides. Go figure. They're to be moved to the isolation rooms. Warner told me Jonas will be okay? Hammond says keep him where he is, but still wants the armed guard. Or, better put, the _Tok'ra_ want it."

Janet winced. No wonder they hadn't seen hide nor hair of the base's commanding officers. It sounded like they were holding up a floodgate. If it had been anyone else behind those masks...

"No." Daniel's voice cut clean through her thoughts. Arms folded, he stood at the fore of the group.

Jack raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me?"

"We let ourselves be examined. Take us to Jonas."

"What? No pretty please?"

Daniel's eyes darkened, but Jack did not back down. Vala stepped forwards, resting a hand on his arm. Jack shifted, made uncomfortable by the trust that shone between the pair, "I'm not usually the first to suggest something like this, but this isn't exactly normal, Daniel. They've shown themselves to be good so far," she fixed her gaze on Jack, "Let Daniel stay with Jonas. We'll go ahead to one of your rooms. _Together_."

Jack held eye contact with the woman. Her cool, clear eyes told him that was as good as it was going to get, and if he was going to let anyone wander off out of this lot, it was going to be Daniel. The IOA would be pissed they would be staying in the same room, but to be frank, Jack couldn't give a rat's ass. "Done."

* * *

Daniel had lost track of the time he had spent watching his friend sleep. After O'Neill had led him to the room, he had been left more or less in peace. With Jonas still sleeping off the after-effect of whatever they had drugged him with, Daniel had been given an awful lot of time to think over his decision to lead them all here. Too much time. He soon found himself second guessing himself, and when he wasn't distracted by thinking up theories about what an 'IOA' was, he was constantly replaying things over in his mind – most specifically, Drek's death, and the following 'rescue' from the facility. How had he let himself be taken in that easily? Looking back, it had been such a transparent ploy. The others had relied on him, and he had let them down. Especially Jonas, but the others as well.

Echoing voices from down the corridor drew his attention from his inward-berating. He recognised the voice of the female doctor, but the other was unknown to him. He rose smoothly, noting how swiftly the guard at the door tensed at the change of situation.

The owners of the voices seemed to stop moving, as they got no louder. Once again, he found himself impressed by the strength of presence that small woman commanded, "I am sorry, Mr Woolsey, but Jonas has just undergone surgery, and given his prior medical history, I refuse to rush things. Now, I will send Daniel back to the others, but I will _not _be swayed any further than that. If you'll excuse me."

Her last statement had clearly been more than a request. Daniel didn't see any need to hold up any pretence when she entered, "I will not leave." He was disturbed by the apparent knowledge this Fraiser had claimed over Jonas' past.

For a moment, it looked as if the small woman was going to get angry, but then she sighed, and her gaze softened. "I understand how worried you are, Daniel, but I promise Jonas will be safe under my care. I tried to argue your case, as did Colonel O'Neill, but there are higher powers at work here, and they demand you are placed in a more...secure environment for the night."

Daniel kept his face impassive, but inside he was screaming. How could he have been so stupid to have brought them all here? Everything was completely out of their control, they were weaponless. He's made the wrong decision _again_, and-

He cut himself off. No. If they hadn't come here, if he hadn't taken the risk, Jonas would be dead. The doctor had tried to explain to him about the nature of the injury, but all he needed to know was how that last look in Jonas' eyes before he had slipped into unconsciousness had not been right.

Reluctantly, he nodded his consent.

* * *

Jack bristled as Woolsey settled down a seat behind him. They had set up a video feed to monitor their new guests, and it was turning into a regular freakshow. What galled Jack the most was how the IOA and the Tok'ra had apparently found a common ground – the dangerous and untrustworthy nature of these individuals. All that was left for dispute was who got the control over them.

Teal'c and Carter both shot him a look, and he shrugged nearly imperceptibly. Woolsey had gotten bored a couple of hours ago, seeing as the four remaining aliens weren't saying a word, and had left to see what the Tok'ra and Hammond were doing. Jacob had been not-so-subtly recalled by the Tok'ra when the reality of the situation had been realised. Either way, it had given SG-1 some much needed private time in peace to talk over the situation in the video room.

The reason for Woolsey's sudden reappearance was realised soon enough, as the door opened, and Daniel walked into the room. Immediately, the dark haired woman – Vala – threw up her arms, and rose to her feet, "_Finally!_ Do you realise how worried we've been? No, of course you don't. You were no doubt going over everything, thinking how this is all your fault." She hit him in the arm. Jack couldn't keep the surprised expression from his face; after all these hours of silence, and that's the first thing she comes up with?

Daniel seemed to be thinking something along the same lines, but was apparently used to it, as he didn't waiver, "Their healer seems to think Jonas will be fine. He was still sleeping when I left. How have you all been?"

"Quiet." Vala sighed, "This place gives me the creeps, and we had more to think about than talk over, especially with you two missing."

The dark-skinned boy was seen to move forwards as well, folding his arms across his chest as if cold, "Vala's right. This place is too..." He trailed off meaningfully, gesturing at the grey walls of the small room. Jack found his interest piqued, but Beren didn't elaborate further, "Not that any of this seems to be a worry for Kera." He gestured to the other girl, who smiled softly, and shrugged, seeming to be completely at ease with their situation. The only thing that irked the girl was her inability to tell them what she now knew – these people were from Daniel and Jonas' _past_, a time before the facility.

Kera's knowledge, however, remained forcibly private. Daniel was seen to sigh and pinch the bridge if his nose, an action that made Sam flinch with the familiarity of it. "Alright. We'll get some sleep. There's not much we can decide until Jonas is awake anyway."

It didn't sound like an order. Nor was it said with any sort of body language that demanded respect. Nevertheless, Vala nodded softly, gently reaching out to squeeze Daniel's shoulder before moving away, grabbing pillows and blankets from the beds in an action so reminiscent of their first night at Neith's palace. As soon as Beren and Kera were comfortably settled, Vala gave the other two men a meaningful look, before curling up next to the younger pair under the blankets. The plain oddity of this sleeping arrangement was not lost on those in the video room.

So softly that the microphones had trouble picking the voices up, Renn turned to Daniel, "You must rest. I will stay awake tonight."

Daniel let out a breathy laugh, but no humour laced his tone, "You think I could sleep at a time like this?"

The solid presence in front of him shook his head, "No, but you must at least try."

Daniel made to protest, but Renn held up a hand, silencing him with a look. Reluctantly, he nodded, and the other man settled himself crossed-legged on the bed facing the door. Before he made his way over to the others, however, Daniel murmured, "I think these people know Jonas."

Renn cracked open an eye from his meditative posture, "You think they are the masked men?" His voice was no more than a hiss, dripping with venom.

Daniel shook his head, "No. They do not go out of their way to be too dissimilar to that place, and I truly think that had all been down to _her_." He refused to speak Neith's name, "I think they might have known Jonas...before."

Renn regarded him for a long moment before replying, "If there was a before."

That seemed to end the discussion, as Daniel moved slowly to lie down with the others. Vala dropped any pretence of sleep, and caught his hand in hers. He returned her reassuring smile, and tried to find the rest Renn had been so adamant about.

Jack blinked. He managed to restrain himself from saying anything until Woolsey had risen with a soft 'interesting' and left the room. Stubbornly ignoring the connection his once-presumed-dead best friend had with these people, he turned to his team, "They think _we_ might be the 'masked men'? What's that supposed to mean?"

"It would seem that the men who attacked us and took Jonas Quinn and Daniel Jackson also played a part in bringing them together with the others, O'Neill." Teal'c spoke calmly, his eyes never leaving the screen.

"It's now too much of coincidence for those men to have just been bounty hunters like we thought, sir." Carter added.

Jack ran a hand through his hair and sighed, "Well ain't this just peachy."

* * *

It had been a ridiculously long day for Janet, and yet she almost dreaded going home to Cassandra. What was she supposed to say? She sighed, checking over the readouts from the monitors surrounding Jonas' bed. His injury had hardly been the worst the SGC had seen, but there had been something...off about it. For some reason, the bleeding in his skull had been much more severe than should have been expected. Once the danger of the operation was over, she had ordered samples of his blood to be screened for possible chemicals that could have been the cause. Not only that, but there was the added worry of Jonas' history after that nightmare incident of the Goa'uld-gifted fortune telling he had experienced while on SG-1.

Her attention was suddenly caught by movement in the bed occupied by the current object of her thoughts. The machines registered a slight increase in heart rate as a frown creased Jonas' features, and his muscles tensed. His eyelids began to flicker rapidly, and at a guess, she would assume he had just fallen into REM sleep – and a rather disturbed one at that – meaning the sedative was wearing off.

"Jonas!" She called firmly, determined to wake him up before deciding whether a further sedative was necessary. "Jonas, wake up please. It's okay, you're safe."

Confused green eyes cracked open, nightmare-fear hindered by the groggy feeling of being drugged. He blinked, "Doctor Fraiser?"

Janet almost took a step back in shock. Could it be possible Jonas remembered what Daniel didn't?

But then Jonas' expression began to clear as he fully dredged himself up from semi-consciousness, and it was soon replaced by fear as he scrambled to sit up and get away from her, "Where am I? Who are you?"

A sudden spell of dizziness was the only thing that stopped him from acting violently out of his fear and confusion. It forced Janet to administer another sedative as things were confused by the arrival of that damned IOA representative and a miscellaneous Tok'ra with General Hammond.

As Jonas fell back into dreamless unconsciousness, Janet found that she had no desire to relay what had just happened to these people who at heart she knew did not truly care for the welfare of the SGC and its people.

When she finally got the General and SG-1 alone to tell them of the development, she knew she was not alone in this assessment. They would protect their own until such time when they could once again protect themselves. In the meantime, she would join them in cursing that damn snake to hell.

To Be Continued...

Author Notes: Any thoughts?


	8. Chapter 8

Author Notes: Glad everyone is still enjoying!

Chapter 8

Bureaucracy was a bitch. Of that much, Jack could be pretty much certain. It had been two weeks since they had been landed smack dab into this political nightmare. If this had happened but a little while ago, of course, there wouldn't be this much trouble. Look at Teal'c. He had fitted in just fine, and he'd killed lots of decent people in his service to his false god. How was this situation any different?

Apparently, it was. According to the Tok'ra and IOA at least. Thankfully, the former had been forced to drop the matter officially, due to the original agreement that Earth and the SGC would have primary control over the matter. Nevertheless, they were barely any further forwards politically.

That was not to say there had been no other developments. Jonas had recovered sufficiently enough that Janet had allowed him to be moved into the same room as the others. Not that she was particularly happy about it, but she conceded that keeping him separate from the only people he knew would only cause undue stress and hinder his recovery. She was appeased by the reluctant agreement that Jonas would not be sleeping on the floor with the others. The group themselves had been relatively cooperative, adhering to the rules and barely complained about the forced confinement. At least, they had managed to get the incidents down to a day apart now before someone made a move one of them deemed threatening. Mostly, it was Vala who caused the trouble. And Jack could hardly say he was surprised. The SGC personnel had developed a nasty habit of forgetting to mention key details to whichever IOA questioner it was that day trying their luck.

Nevertheless, Jack knew that this situation could not last. With any luck, they would be making some headway today. Woolsey would be tied up with Hammond for the majority of the morning to go over whatever new crap those suits had come up with now, finally giving Fraiser the opportunity to speak to all of them without observation of unwanted parties.

When Jonas' blood test had come back, there had been some rather unusual results, results that had prompted Janet to subject blood samples of the others to a more thorough testing. It had conjured a few theories, but she could only confirm these by talking to all of them. This was precisely what had brought Jack and the good doctor to the door of the six people who had been made no more than prisoners in a facility that had once been a home to two of them.

As soon as they entered the room, Daniel and Renn were on their feet. Janet held up her palms, "Please, sit down, we just need to talk to you."

Vala snorted, "_Talking_ is all we've done since we got here. Not that it's got us anywhere."

Jack shrugged, "No arguments here. But there are lots of things that are out of our control. We're on your side. Let the doc help you."

There was silence for a few minutes, before Daniel finally nodded. Janet took a breath, knowing she was about to ask the question that had been at best met with a stubborn silence, and at worst with Vala's fist. "I need you to tell me how it was you came to be in the service of Neith."

"No." Renn replied bluntly.

Beren nodded, "If that's all, you can leave us to our cell."

Janet tried to make her case, but Jack was more interested on the interactions of the two furthest from them – Jonas and Kera. He looked much better, thankfully, but it was not this that had caught Jack's attention. The silent girl was holding Jonas' gaze, and had grasped his hand, a pleading look upon her face. Jonas was frowning in confusion, shaking his head almost unnoticeably. Kera then frowned in turn, shaking her head once, before dropping her grip on Jonas' hand and nodding her head decisively.

Jonas bit his lip, and then his shoulders seemed to sag in defeat. He turned to Fraiser, "It's a rather long story. Perhaps you could specify what you need to know?"

Vala turned to stare at Jonas incredulously, "They don't _need _to know anything, Jonas."

Janet, however, took what she could get and ploughed forwards, "What I mean is, do you remember anything of your lives before Neith? Only I found some rather anomalous chemicals in all of your blood, and it is very possible that she could have found some way to suppress your memories."

Renn scowled, "There was no before."

Jack scoffed, "So you could tell me where you grew up? Who your parents were? Your friends?" He couldn't help his gaze lingering on Daniel.

Beren, however, looked thoughtful, "How would she have gone about taking our memories?"

Janet sighed, "Unfortunately, the Goa'uld do possess the technology to implant memories, and take them away. It is easily possible that this chemical could have nothing to do with your memories, but if it is, there is a chance you could begin to remember." Jack only just managed to hide a wince. This chemical was the last thing they were laying their hopes on for Daniel and Jonas remembering.

Janet watched as Daniel's clear gaze swept each of the others in turn to gauge their reactions, before finally resting on Renn and Vala's thunderous ones. He sighed, and shook his head, "I'm sorry, but we cannot help you."

Jack was about to explode, and likely finally let slip the truth about Daniel and Jonas, direct orders be damned, but he was beaten to it, "No!" Jonas had slid to his feet, coming to stand next to Daniel, "These people saved my life, and if we don't make some sort of step, _nothing_ will change, and then how is it any different? What if Neith was worried I'd recognise something if she used proper Goa'uld technology? Beren always said that it never made sense for her to continue to feed us that disgusting stuff every day. What if she was drugging us? After all, it's not like she could have kept on knocking us out during the day to give us injections once she integrated us into her palace."

"Jonas..." Vala stepped forwards, taking his arm, "They're just nightmares-"

"They're not just nightmares!" He spat in frustration, "What if, what if these people are right? And we had a life before the facility? What if I'd met another woman, Goa'uld, whatever, _before _Neith? What if my dreams are memories?"

Jack could hardly dare to believe it. After all, Jonas had barely spoken three words in the past two weeks, preferring to leave it to the others to talk, "Wait, wait, back it up there. This woman – think you can describe her?"

"No, enough, that is enough!" Renn snapped, "You will leave now!"

"Yes, it is enough!" Jonas wrenched away from Vala, "I refuse to let this place become a prison like the last two times! For the first time since I can remember we're in a place where my skin doesn't crawl! Daniel asked that we trust these people, and I trust his judgement. The woman – she's dark haired, and her eyes glowed, just like Neith. She's...smiling, but it's not right, and she's talking to me, but I can't make out what she's saying. All the while, I'm just standing there, and there are coloured lights everywhere. And others...people, but not people. Wrong people."

"This is foolish!" Renn grasped Jonas' shoulders, "Don't you see? It was just a dream borne of Drek's murder and Neith's presence."

"Nirrti." Jack managed to choke out, his mind whirring.

Jonas' head snapped towards him, and so did Daniel's, both men's eyes shining with a fleeting clarity before they were shrouded in confusion, "What?"

"The Goa'uld – her name was Nirrti. She's dead now." He shrugged helplessly, "You met her. She tried to screw around with your DNA, and I guess that's an experience that's hard to let go of."

Everyone had gone completely still. Vala spoke slowly, "How could you know that?"

"Colonel..." Janet's voice was low and held a warning.

Jack shrugged again, "Screw Woolsey and his IOA. He remembered Nirrti – that is proof enough for me that they're still in there." He turned to look Jonas directly in the eye, "Your name is Jonas Quinn, and were a member of my team before you were captured by an unknown enemy, all wearing masks. At the same time, another of my team, a Doctor Daniel Jackson, was thought to have been killed by them. Apparently we were wrong."

* * *

"That went well." Sam commented dryly after Woolsey had stormed from the room.

"As well as could be expected under the circumstances, Major." Hammond conceded tiredly. "When can you get the report together, doctor?"

Janet frowned for a second, "A week? It's hard to say, sir. Now they're not ingesting whatever it was that Neith was giving them, the chemical should start to leave their systems."

"And then maybe they'll start talking to us again." Jack huffed.

"Well, you didn't exactly break the news gently, Colonel." General Hammond pointed out.

"It's very likely we've only scratched the surface on what happened to them over the past year and a half," Janet agreed, "But if we can start to help them regain their memories, then hopefully the IOA's case for them being a danger should begin to hold less sway."

"Any time estimate on that, doc?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, I mean, Jonas is already starting to remember, isn't he?" Sam leant forward anxiously.

Janet Fraiser sighed, "It's impossible to tell. Without knowing about the other four's history, I can't begin to make an estimate, but there is a notable difference between the memories of Jonas and Daniel, despite them both having less than savoury previous experiences with the Goa'uld. It is very possible Neith's drug never fully took effect in Jonas."

"Did Jonas Quinn not say that Nirrti mentioned that he was 'different' from humans of Earth?" Teal'c pointed out.

Janet nodded, "It seems to be a running theme with Langarans, possibly due to the Naquadria experiments in the early days of their planet. I couldn't say, but it does seem that the chemical is leaving Jonas' system faster than the others. It won't be an easy process regardless, though, for any of them. Their memories are unlikely to return in a neat package, and they will also no doubt begin to remember some other experiences from their earliest time with Neith." She sighed, running a hand through her hair, "In point of fact, it could take up to three months for their blood to be completely cleansed of the chemical, especially if their bodies don't have any way of breaking the compound down like Jonas' does. Whatever it was that she gave them, it seems to have created a blockage in their neural pathways between their long term memories of before any of this, and their newly formed memories of Neith's _training_ and their time in her service.

"_Three months?_" Jack groaned, "Can't you speed it up?"

"Three months is the general time in which red blood cells live for. Short of a blood transfusion..." She trailed off. "I'm sorry sirs, but all I can suggest is to help them remember the old fashioned way. Surround them with familiar activities, objects, people. Of course, that will only help with Daniel and Jonas."

Hammond sighed, "Thank you doctor. Dismissed, all of you, get some rest." The group made to rise, "Not you Jack, I need to speak with you first."

Jack followed Hammond into his CO's office, and shut the door behind them, "Look, sir, I know I shouldn't have let slip about how we knew them, but you can't just-"

George held up a hand, "That's not what I wanted to see you about. God knows we needed something to kick the IOA out of the rut they had dragged this whole fiasco into. If anything, I should thank your relaxed attitude on censorship."

"Oh. Well, thank you. Sir."

"No, I wanted to ask you what you thought of the other four."

"General?"

"Well, they'll start to remember too, and we have no idea what kind of situations they could bring up."

Jack frowned, "Daniel and Jonas wouldn't trust them so much if they were really a threat."

"They don't even know who they themselves are, Jack, how can you say their ability to judge characters is up to scratch? For God's sake, the reputation of these people..."

"I hear Teal'c had a pretty formidable rep himself before we came along." Jack pointed out.

"I can't and won't risk this base, Colonel." Hammond locked eyes with his second in command.

Jack nodded once, "I'll keep an eye on them all, sir, and tell Teal'c and Carter to do the same."

General Hammond nodded, satisfied, "That's all I ask Colonel."

To Be Continued...

Author Notes: Would love to see any words of wisdom from you all!


	9. Chapter 9

Author Notes: Hey! Sorry this is a little delayed - I moved back home for the summer today. Who knew I had accumulated so much stuff? I appreciate all your reviews!

Warning: Okay, sorry to disappoint those of you who didn't want this, but there will now be a secondary Daniel/Vala thread to this story. It seemed to be the natural progression of dynamics. I can say, however, that this will generally remain secondary, with the main plotline always coming first.

Chapter 9

Jonas blinked fuzzily, pinching the bridge of his nose, an act that caused Janet to finally step forwards, "Alright, I think that's enough for today, don't you?"

Jonas started, having forgotten that there was anyone else in the room, absorbed only in what he had been reading aloud. It was one of the more alternative 'treatments' that, bizarrely, Jack of all people had suggested both Jonas and Daniel try. It involved them both trying to read aloud passages in different languages that they had known _before_. The pair of them had been making progress, although the same idea had fallen flat with the others. "I'm fine, really, just a little tired."

"Exactly. Jonas, what have we discussed about you pushing yourself?"

"Sorry." He smiled sheepishly at the petite doctor, before rising to his feet, suddenly surprised to see that at some point while he had been reading, Daniel, Vala and Renn had all ended up in the room waiting for him, their respective doctors obviously having released them for the day.

It had been nearly six weeks since Jack's little outburst revelation, five since they had all been able to vaguely grasp what they would begin to undergo now that they were finally free of Neith. Sometimes, Jonas still had to kick himself when he woke up in the mornings. Nevertheless, with his and Daniel's coaxing, the others had slowly come around to the idea; it was undeniable that the SGC was a far cry from their last two residences.

As predicted by Doctor Fraiser, Jonas had adapted much faster than the others; in the second week alone, he had accidentally ended up in his old office, having not been paying attention to where he was walking. Sam, who had been accompanying him at the time, had been overjoyed.

But it was not all good things. It seemed that each of them was recovering their memories in different ways. It was not uncommon for Daniel, Renn or Kera to be doing something completely inane, before suddenly experiencing very vivid flashbacks, from memories of their youngest childhoods to completely random happy instances in their pasts. When Daniel had remembered the death of his parents, it had scared the wits out of Vala, who had been the only one with him at the time, and was completely unused to Daniel being out of control of his emotions. It had taken Jack an hour to get through to Daniel that time. Apparently, Daniel had been forced to relive that memory in his adult life as well, and that was why SG-1 all thought it had been a particularly powerful recall.

In contrast, Jonas, Beren and Vala didn't exactly have memories, per se, more accidental displays of personality or knowledge. That was unless you counted their recall of their times with Neith. While the other three only seemed to have flashes of their time _before_, they couldn't seem to go five minutes without remembering a rather sickening detail from their time there during those little daytime training sessions.

And then there were the nightmares. It didn't take long for Jonas' dreams to branch out beyond Nirrti, and it seemed Daniel and Vala had an equal abundance of material for their minds to draw upon in the vulnerability of sleep. It didn't help that for a week now, they had all been sleeping in separate rooms on the same corridor; now_ that_ had been a fight and a half on the part of the doctors of the SGC to get the group of six to agree. And yet, as their memories began to surface more and more, there was equally an awkwardness about the way they sometimes interacted with each other.

The four were soon joined by Kera and Beren, and as a group they headed for the cafeteria. It had also been a week now that they were given much more freedom in the base. It came from the increasingly rapid surfacing of the memories of Daniel and Jonas, as well as the final victory against the IOA's demands. SG-1 and General Hammond had fought hard to get them seen as more than just a threat, or worse, an experiment.

"So, how's it going?" Daniel opened with what had become customary in their evening meals over the weeks, and soon their table was filled with discussion. This was only punctuated mid-meal by a well-concealed kick under the table at Daniel's leg, courtesy of Kera, shortly followed by a sharp but subtle nod of her head in Vala's direction, where the woman was being unusually quiet. For a fleeting moment he seemed confused, before he responded with a barely perceptible nod. It did not escape his notice that the interaction between the pair of them had been missed by the other four. Six weeks ago, such an exchange would have been impossible to hide, and for what seemed like the millionth time of late, Daniel had to repress a sigh. As he gained more of an idea of what his old life used to be like, the more he began to have the unsettling certainty that he could not have both lives; that none of them could.

Of course, there were many things he would quite happily leave in the dark recesses of his mind; Neith, the training sessions, the people he had thought he was killing for the good of his group. He knew he would never forgive himself for the blood on his hands. But at the same time? What about the family he had gained? They were losing the closeness they had once had, and while Daniel was all too eager to regain the family he was beginning to remember from his time at the SGC, he hated the idea of having to choose.

He would not voice these doubts, of course, not even to that infernal mind-doctor they all saw three times a week. It was not his place to show fear and worry in front of these people; they relied on him. And yet, it _did _worry him how more and more he wanted to talk to someone about this dilemma he had found himself in, and with Jack O'Neill of all people. The man never gave off the aura of someone to confide in, to take advice from, especially to someone like Daniel, who would only ever usually voice his doubts quietly to Renn in the dead of night. The fact remained, however, that the unconscious shifts in trust he was experiencing kept prodding him to go to Jack.

In essence, it was all pretty confusing. And that was just him, let alone how he was supposed to help the others through this.

Damned snakeheads.

The importance of his mental use of the curse was, as usual, completely lost on Daniel.

* * *

A light knock on Vala's door made her jerk out of her thoughts. She sighed, registering with an increasing sense of melancholy that it must be one of her group, as the SFs were never quiet. A few weeks ago, there would have been no need to knock on a separate door, and even if there had been, she knew that whoever was on the other side wouldn't have bothered, "Come in." She knew before she saw who it was that it was one of the heavier-footed men, but no longer had the ability to distinguish between them, such was a side-effect of their separation. She pulled a forced smile on her face when she saw who it was, "Daniel. What brings you to my corner of this corridor?"

Any light expression on his face was altogether ruined by the serious, deep-coloured eyes that regarded her. He closed the door behind him, "You were very quiet at dinner."

Vala raised an eyebrow, "And apparently, Kera was not." At Daniel's confused expression, she elaborated, "She's been following me around for the past few days, attending all my sessions. It wasn't until this afternoon when Fraiser threatened to take the issue to Renn that she relented."

"I didn't know." Daniel murmured softly.

Vala snorted in dismissal, turning to busy herself with some scrap pieces of paper on the table in the corner, "Of course you didn't, Daniel, why would you have?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Vala felt an unnamed entity well up in her throat, but she viciously swallowed it back, forcing her voice to remain impassive, "Nothing. I was just simply stating a fact. You're not expected to notice these things anymore, none of us are. You all need to focus on remembering your pasts."

"What do you mean _'you'_? Don't you want to include yourself in that?"

"Slip of the tongue." Vala kept the sneer out of her tone, but only just.

Daniel strode forwards, concern bleeding from his movements, "Vala..." She nimbly sidestepped his attempt to take her arm. She turned to face him, letting a mask fall into place, staring him directly in the eye. Daniel was unnerved, but managed to keep it from his tone, "Please, tell me what's wrong."

She smiled easily, "Nothing is wrong. Kera is just having more trouble letting go of the group dynamics than the rest of us."

"You can't lie to me, Vala." Daniel's face was infuriatingly calm.

Her eyes blazed, "Why? It's been working for the past week. Who knew I was so _talented_ at lying, at pretending?" She spat each word as a foul poison from her tongue, "Because, apparently? I've got a really good knack for it. Even when it comes to you."

"That's not true." Daniel tried to placate her, but it was clear her temper had already surpassed the stage where that would have been possible.

"No? These separate rooms, they were just one more step apart, weren't they? One step closer for you to return to your happy, warm life. You know what is happening as well as I do, Daniel, you know what we are all becoming. We are losing each other, one by one, in a way worse than anything Neith could have done."

"You're wrong. Okay, I'll admit, we might be losing some of the innate nuances of our interactions that come with living in permanent close quarters for so long, but we will never lose each other." He realised as he spoke that he was as much trying to persuade Vala as himself. "You will not lose us, you will not lose _me_. One fails, we all fail. I told you before, Vala, we are in this together, whatever happens."

Vala flinched when Daniel repeated that hated phrase, and she found herself unable to meet his eyes when she spoke once more, "But maybe _you_ will lose _me_."

The sudden soft tone of her voice took Daniel by surprise, so much so that he was only able to muster a rather ineloquent, "What?"

Vala let out a small breathy laugh that verged on the side of hysterical, "Look, I can handle getting the flashbacks, the nightmares, the ghosts of the needles against my skin. That's fine. I can cope. But what if I don't like the rest? What if my _before_ isn't all full of nice warm, fuzzy memories? And before you say it, yes, I know we all have our dark-spots, but what if the person those memories made me into, the Vala from _before_, is not the kind of person Renn will want near Kera? Or Jonas and Beren will be able to look at? Or you-"

"That's absurd, Vala!" Daniel cut across her before she could continue, "Your memories cannot be mutually exclusive! You cannot return to the person you were before, because you will always have your new experiences, and trust me, you cannot just wipe them under the carpet."

"But it's still happening! That's my point, Daniel!" Vala snapped in frustration, "We can't have it both ways – you and Jonas are expected to return to how you were, but woe betide the rest of us if we should do the same, lest we fail to conform to the SGC's expectations! Because that is exactly what is happening to me! And I don't think I can stop it."

Daniel regarded her in silence as she stared at a fixed point in the floor, her shuddering breathing the only sound in the room, "Do you want to stop it?"

There was barely a pause before Vala answered, the anger bled dry from her voice, leaving only honesty, a tone she had thought to be lost in the tide of her returning memories, "I don't want to lose the first true family I've ever had. Whatever we say about Neith, in a sick, roundabout way, she gave me something I don't think I can give up. I can't lose Kera, or these brothers I seem to be stuck with." She threw Daniel a poor attempt at a smile to couple her weak humour, before cleansing herself with a sigh, letting her honesty turn brutal, "Or you."

Daniel stood there in silenced shock, only jolted out of his state by Vala's derisive snort, as she turned away, "Hey." He really did grab her arm this time, forcing her to look at him. The air pressed down on them, and then it was Vala's turned to be shocked as Daniel's lips pressed down on hers, with her able to do nothing but respond. When they finally parted, she could only stare up at him, and his infuriatingly calm, assured gaze, "You don't seem to want to believe me on anything right now, so fine. Ignore what you think you know of yourself from _before_, ignore Neith, ignore the masks. We're all walking into something new here, and I know you're scared – I sure as hell am. But I can promise you, whether you will accept it or not, that I will do all in my power to keep us all together as we are now. And if that fails, and we do lose the others, then I promise you will not lose me."

Vala took a shaky breath, her mind and body together just so, so tired. But there was a reason Daniel had always been the one they turned to, and she found herself leaning forwards to rest her head in his shoulder, subconsciously mirroring an act of trust made so long ago.

Daniel felt the tension seep from her body, and on instinct kissed the top of her head, all the while fervently hoping his words would not prove empty.

To Be Continued...

Author Notes: So what do you think? Hope it wasn't too much, and you're still enjoying reading!


	10. Chapter 10

Author Notes: Thanks so much for all your wonderful support!

Chapter 10

Jonas and Kera sat in silence, alone in the 'common room' the SGC had provided for the six. It was late at night, or rather, very early in the morning, and they knew the others to be asleep. Often the pair would frequent the area together, happy to relish both the silence and company the other would always provide. Usually, they would read, or rather, Jonas would read, and Kera would alternate practicing her literacy with looking at glossy pictures from the numerous encyclopaedias. Both were as interested as the other to make their way through books on Earth's culture, one learning for the first time, the other slowly remembering what they had once known. Kera was additionally determined to learn a new way of communication.

It was a tradition neither had any inclination to break. Out of everyone, they had been the two to most strongly oppose the idea of separation, and yet equally, the two who put up the least resistance. They had known it was the inevitable outcome of their stay, but had dreaded what the act would put into motion.

For Kera's part, she hadn't wanted to lose Jonas. She knew she would always have Renn, as the doctors had informed them early on that their relationship extended into blood, but Jonas was the only one who truly understood her. Perhaps it came from them both being of the same 'type', or simply just Jonas' nature, but she wasn't certain if she could cope if she lost him as a brother. While Beren was still the closest to her in age, Jonas was not as old, nor as overbearing as Renn. They were equals, and each understood the other perfectly.

She knew that Jonas felt the same. While Daniel was not necessarily as overbearing as Renn, Jonas not only had to deal with him, but the rest of the SGC as well. She could only imagine how overwhelming that was, especially for a man who had come to appreciate the value of silence as much as she did. The pressure of being who you are expected to be...

It had been four weeks since they had all separated into different rooms, and the pair were relieved to discover that nothing had changed between them. This may, of course, have been part due to their refusal to follow the rules. Unbeknownst to their family, or the rest of the SGC, and especially their guards, Jonas and Kera had utilised their skills in stealth to the best of their abilities. They would habitually spend as much time as possible together in the common room during the evening, before succeeding in sneaking back to whichever of their quarters happened to be the most convenient depending on the movement of the SFs and the positions of the cameras. No one suspected that the pair would refuse to be separated, and so no one bothered to look closely. After all, they were the quiet ones, the unassuming members of the group. Not cultured for strength or speed; as far as the group dynamics had always been ordered, they had been the ones to fall back behind the others.

What everyone seemed to forget was that, as was inherent in their silence and stealth, they _noticed _things. Thought before they acted, with a clarity and sharpness of mind that was never truly realised by anyone but each other. They were uncertain if even Neith knew quite what their potential had been, and because of Jonas' almost immediate dislike of her, neither had felt the need to raise the issue during their stay there. Now, it was just a part of them, and from this, sprung not only an extreme reluctance to let go of each other, but also the ability to prevent that from happening.

It was not that they wanted to remain the people that Neith tried to make them, but more that they did not want to lose the side effects of her actions. Even during their first couple of weeks in the SGC, both had noticed slight shifts in the group dynamics, and the way the other four behaved. They were drifting apart; what had once come naturally, now requiring thought to put it to action.

But Kera had not wanted to lose the brother who would not only protect her as Renn would, but understand when that protection was unnecessary, and accept it in turn. As for Jonas, he did not want to lose the sister who made him feel as if he belonged, who saw him as _her_ equal. For as memories surfaced more and more rapidly for the both of them, revelations were rapidly forced upon them. Kera had never been free to breathe, the helpless one of the village, who would always need to be hidden, defended. Jonas, meanwhile, had always stood to the side, separated from others on Kelowna by his mind, and again at the SGC by the manner of his arrival. While he was beginning to realise that the SGC had accepted him towards the end, it did not hold the same pull for him as it did for Daniel.

Jonas turned a page, glancing up for a second to find Kera staring at him with her unwavering gaze. He quirked an eyebrow in question, before he closed his book and placed it to one side as he frowned, "What's wrong?" His voice was soft, barely audible, but she heard it anyway.

He watched as Kera's shoulders rose and fell with the whisper of a breath; a soundless sigh. She rose gracefully, and he soon found himself shifting to one side as she curled up beside him. He knew immediately that this was one of those times when Kera desperately needed words, but could not find them, so he remained still and silent, resting his cheek on her head as they both allowed their minds to drift. Her muscles were tense, and he wished he knew why. Finally, when he caught himself with his eyes closed for the third time, he nudged her gently. She nodded in turn, and they rose, knowing it wouldn't go down well if the others discovered they had slept in the manner they had been sitting.

* * *

Janet was concerned. They were very nearly reaching the three month mark, and when compared to the beginning, the difference in all six was startling. It was not to say they were 'cured', but there were no memories, or at least very few, that they lacked. All of the SGC had been overjoyed to have Daniel properly _back_, and even the surliest marines might admit that it was nice to have Jonas. Vala, too, was making a surprisingly welcome, if rather unusual impact on life, and the overhanging threat from the IOA about 'security risks' had finally been dispelled. It had all seemed to have worked out okay, the charmed luck of SG-1 showing itself again.

That was until two days ago.

It was as if someone had flipped a switch. Although, perhaps that was not as accurate as it could be. It was possible that the change was already presenting itself in Kera earlier, but due to her natural silence, it went by unnoticed.

The problem was Jonas. While, admittedly, it seemed as if he would never return to quite the same level of openness as he had been before he and Daniel had been taken, until two days ago, he was still, well, _him_. And then suddenly, they seemed to be back to the beginning again. He spoke little, if at all, in his sessions, and even seemed closed off from the others – all except Kera, of course, who followed him like a second shadow, as he did to her. It was as if the pair of them were making a life or death decision, and needed all the introspection at their disposal to make sure they did not make the wrong choice.

It was for this reason that she, along with General Hammond and SG-1, had called a meeting with the other four, in the hope that they might have some answers.

Renn shrugged, "Kera, she is always worrying beyond what she needs to concern herself with. And Jonas is probably worrying about her. It is nothing."

"No." Sam shook her head, "It's more than that. Something has really changed. Jonas is not like this."

Vala nodded, "I agree. Those two were always a law unto themselves-"

Beren snorted, "And we weren't? Or Daniel and Renn?"

Vala ignored him, "My point is that if something has worried Kera, then it will inevitably transfer into Jonas. You remember how she was when he was having those nightmares. Out of all of us, those two are the ones who have changed the least in their relationship." She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, "I don't know about you guys, but sometimes these days I have trouble understanding what Kera is trying to get at. I mean, I do _know_, but that extra level of understanding, it's just..."

"Gone." Daniel supplied. Beren nodded in agreement.

Janet smiled softly, "It's to be expected, and it's natural. The relationship dynamics Neith created for you could not have lasted as your memories surfaced, we explained this to you."

Jack snorted, "Doesn't seem to have stopped Jonas."

"Jack..." Daniel started.

" I know, I know." The Colonel sighed, "It's just so damned frustrating!"

"Then maybe you could bring the matter up with us, instead of calling a meeting behind our backs." A soft voice from the doorway made everyone in the room jump and turn. No one had noticed the approach of Jonas and Kera, not even the other four who should have.

"Jonas..." Sam bit her lip, a look of guilt ghosting across her features.

He shrugged, and gave her a wan smile, "It's fine. We've made our decision." Slight regret laced his tone, but it was only confusion that everyone felt, SG-1 slightly comforted by the fact that the other four seemed to have no idea what he was talking about either. He turned to the pair sitting further down the table; Renn and Beren, "When you return home, I will be going with you and Kera."

Silence reigned over the room, and the pair relished it, knowing it to be the last they would hear in a long while. Sure enough, Vala recovered first, rising to her feet, anger blazing coldly in her eyes. But it was not directed to the pair in the doorway, but the pair they had addressed, "What the hell is he talking about?"

Beren flinched marginally, while, to his credit, Renn remained impassive. He ignored Vala, his calm eyes fixed on Jonas, "Your place is here. This is your home."

"Damn right it is!" Jack snapped, "Jonas? You wanna explain?"

Jonas shrugged lightly, "Kera's been worried for the past few days or so. I couldn't work out why, until I overheard Renn and Beren explaining things to her one night." A strange smirk flitted across his face, "You seem to have forgotten how hard it is to hide things from me and Kera. They've already decided. Renn and Kera will return with Beren to his world, and from there, they will search for their home. They leave within the week. And I _will_ be going with you, Renn, it is not your decision to make."

Hammond looked enraged, but he reined his anger in well, "This is news to me. When were you planning on informing us?"

Renn's stoic countenance did not waiver, and so it was Beren who responded. "We were to tell the others in a day or so. And then we would tell you. Bar Daniel, none of us are people of this world, and while we thank you for your kindness, we truly cannot remain. I need to find my father; Renn and Kera want to find their home." Daniel did not miss the stormy glare Kera directed at Beren as he included her in his statement, "We understood that Vala wanted to remain here with Daniel, and presumed Jonas would be the same."

Jack opened his mouth, but was easily distracted by the rage and hurt Vala was radiating, "We are your family, and you go behind our backs like this?"

Beren had the decency to look away from his sister in type, but Renn calmly met her eyes, "We were a family created by the lies of a false god. I had a family, I still do, and so does Beren. We intend to return to our loved ones. You have no right to suggest we follow Daniel – would he follow us to our homes if we asked? Would you?"

"We would still be with _her _if not for these people! You owe them your memories, your freedom!"

Renn rose to meet her, "For which I will be forever grateful! But I will not allow myself, or my sister, to be tied to this continuing existence! We belong with our people, as does Beren, and Daniel! Perhaps you would do well to remember your loyalties Vala. I see you make no effort to find any of Drek's kin, or your own, content to indulge in your own desires without thought to those who may think you dead." His voice was cold and sure in its words. Vala just stared at him as he turned his gaze to Jonas, "If you truly feel more ties to us than these, your adopted people, then we would have you come with us. I think you are making a mistake, but you are correct. I can no more stop you from coming with us than Vala can make us all stay here. Come, Kera. General." He nodded to the base's commanding officer as he dismissed himself from the conversation, stalking out of the room. A slight nod from Jonas caused Kera to obey her brother.

No one knew what to say, until Daniel reached up to take Vala's arm and try to persuade her to sit back down, only to have her jerk from his grasp and storm from the room. Beren sighed, "We honestly did not wish it to be this way." He shrugged, "Renn is just...Renn. And Vala is Vala. It cannot be helped. I am sorry." The youth rose, nodding to the remainder of the room's occupants, before following out the same way as Vala.

There was a long pause, before Teal'c, who had remained silent for near the entirety of the meeting, raised his eyes to regard the two men the team had thought to have lost, "Do you believe this to be wise?"

Daniel snorted, "I didn't even know it was coming."

"You and me both." Jack muttered.

"No, I don't." Jonas slipped into a seat beside Daniel, and everyone just looked at him in disbelief.

"Then why are you leaving?" Teal'c asked.

"Jonas, if you don't want to go, then don't!" Sam leant forwards on the desk, not wanting to believe they would lose him again, "If you think you don't have a place here or something, then you're wrong, we-"

"I know I am welcome here." Jonas smiled tiredly.

"Then what the hell are we having this conversation for?" Jack threw up his hands in askance.

"In answer to your question, Teal'c, the wise thing to do would be to all remain as a group. The wise thing to do would be to remain here. Vala has finally found a home, and it is the only place that I, or Daniel, have ever felt comfortable. But equally, I cannot leave Kera, and if it comes to a choice, she will win."

"Kera doesn't strike me as the type to demand much." Janet commented.

Jonas laughed bitterly, "No. If it were up to her, we would both be staying here. All six of us would."

Daniel frowned in confusion, "But Renn..."

"Renn has forgotten. So has Beren, in a different way. You and Vala, you've known something like this was coming. Well, so did Kera and I. Renn has forgotton his sister's strengths, and now can only think of their brother, the one Neith's masked men killed. Their parents are long dead, and all that is left for them is their village, and the woman Renn is betrothed to. He has something to look for in his home, I don't think Kera does anymore."

"Renn's engaged?" Jack asked incredulously.

Daniel nodded, "Yes, he told us just under a month ago. He was overjoyed to remember."

"Can't imagine that emotion going with him much." Jack snorted.

"And Beren?" Sam prompted.

Daniel sighed, "Beren has changed the most out of all of us. No doubt he remembers his father and his home in a rather...idealistic way. Jonas is worried that if Beren returns, the full weight of what he has become will be made clear to him."

"So what happens now?" Sam asked, "General?"

Hammond sighed tiredly, "Renn was right when he said we have no right to keep them here. Not even for security reasons. They know none of our codes, no particular compromising details."

"Colonel, General, I _have_ to go with them." Jonas implored. "I know we should all remain here, but if that is not possible...I need to go with Kera. It's hard to explain."

Jack scrubbed his face with his hands, "Yeah, Jonas, we know. Doesn't mean we have to like it, but, yeah."

"Thank you." Jonas' voice was soft with gratitude and regret as he rose and left the briefing room.

"Dr Jackson?" Hammond prompted.

Daniel laughed humourlessly, "I haven't been called that in a _long_ time."

"Force of habit, son." The General smiled slightly.

"What are you going to do?" Sam asked.

He sighed, "I promised Vala that she would not lose me, even if we lost the others. I don't think I can leave, even to go after them." He shrugged, "This is my home, and I know Vala likes it here too. She's constantly asking when we'll get to see the surface. Hell, when you will let her join an SG team. I know Renn and Beren are making a mistake, but I trust Jonas and Kera to know what they're doing." He fell silent, unable to do anything more but shrug again.

The ever-present quiet was broken once more by the announcement of the incoming wormhole of a returning team, forcing the remainder of the room's occupants to rise and depart, for the first time in a long, long while, Daniel joining them.

And yet as he absorbed the looks of his friends, those he had lost and regained countless times, ranging from grateful to relieved to overjoyed, deep down he had to worry if Jonas really did know what he was doing.

To Be Continued...

Author Notes: I have to be honest with you - I did not mean for this split to happen, it just sort of, did... Then again, this story was going to be 10 chapters long, so I failed on that one as well. It had been my intention to have finished this by now, but for one reason or another, I've been unable. As such, I'm afraid I have to grovel rather a lot to you all, as there will now be no more updates until August at least. I'm going abroad on archaeological excavation, and the chances of having any internet access at all, let alone free time to use it, is very slim. My aim is to be back in the swing of this story by the end of August, so prod me if I have yet to deliver by then.

Anyway, I'm really eager to hear any opinions on what you think about these chapter developments! Thanks guys!


	11. Chapter 11

Author Notes: Okay, so much for updating when I got back from the dig. Sorry about that... Due to a combination of writers block and lack of drive, it has actually reached a new year. Oops. BUT! I am back, and here to stay. Well, at least until I've finished this story. I refuse to be one of those authors who never finish any of their stories. We are reaching an end here, though, only a few chapter to go! As I've been away for so long, I don't expect you to remember what on earth is going on, especially if you access this by story alerts, so here's a quick recap of the story up to now:

_Over a year and a half ago, Jonas and Daniel were kidnapped when offworld. Believed to be dead by the rest of their team, they were in fact in the custody of mysterious masked men, locked in a cell with five other people. Unbeknownst to them, it was an elaborate ruse designed by a Goa'uld named Neith, who was trying to create an elite team of hok'tar – advanced humans. They 'passed', and joined her service, unable to remember their past lives, only able to rely on their training and each other, now a group of six. SG-1 came to Neith's stronghold, prompted by the Tok'ra to find out more about the new force behind Neith's rise. Neith revealed herself to be the murderer of the group's old cellmate, Drek, and the power behind their original captors, and so they returned with SG-1 to Earth after killing her. Jonas and Daniel's identities were soon revealed, but they didn't remember anything. Dr Fraiser discovered the compound in their blood, and over time, as it broke down, the group began to remember their past lives. As they did so, group dynamics changed. Daniel and Vala became closer than ever, while only Jonas and Kera seemed to retain a sense of importance from what Neith had forced upon them. We left the story as Renn and Beren made the decision to break away from the SGC, to return to their own homes. Kera was forced to follow her brother, and Jonas made the decision to accompany them. Vala remained on Earth with Daniel._

Chapter 11

Kera winced as she entered the tent. Jonas smiled ruefully, "It's not that bad."

The girl threw him a derisive look as she dropped to her knees, taking up the wet cloth from the bowl of water next to Jonas, forcing him to tilt his head slightly as she dabbed it to the nasty cut and forming bruise on his cheek. She let out a pointed huff of breath from her lips, making Jonas reach up to still her hand and force it, and the cloth, into her lap, "Really. It's just a scratch. I don't think Renn was really trying to hurt me, just get his point across. You and I both know that if he had been, I wouldn't have been able to sit up afterwards."

Kera let out a silent cry of annoyance, throwing the cloth back into the roughly hewn bowl with a violent splash. Jonas smiled sadly, "I know."

They had been back in Kera and Renn's village for almost two months, and away from the SGC for coming up to three. It had taken them that long to find it. Beren's home had been easy to find; while the 'prince' himself had not bothered to remember his planet's own address, Vala had given it up, after much persuasion from Daniel.

While Beren's world had been nice enough, Jonas had _really_ not enjoyed the stay at the planet. Beren's father was not exactly the most tolerable man, and even his changed son sometimes seemed to have a look of revulsion on his face when he watched the man conduct his life of decadence. Of course, when questioned, Beren flatly denied, and besides, they hadn't seen him since they had departed to find Renn's home. Who knew astronomy charts could be so useful?

The Sinaians, Renn and Kera's people, had been overjoyed to have them back. And had even been very welcoming to Jonas. Renn's betrothed, Juma, had been especially kind. They had been lucky in their arrival time, too. The region of Sinai that was populated was not especially habitable, long drained of any natural resources by the Goa'uld, leaving behind a people who soon developed into many nomadic groups to survive. The world was hot, full of sand and rocks. And very little water. Movement between the mountains and the plains was essential to survive, the Sinaians almost entirely reliant on their herds. Thankfully, they had not been based far from the gate in the season the three had arrived.

Despite the inhospitable nature of life, there was just that, _life_. Jonas found himself growing to love the world, beginning to understand how Daniel's love of Abydos had extended beyond just his wife, Sha're. The little cluster of tents and paddocks was a village for these people for almost half a year, brushstrokes of vibrant colours against the red land. Everything would be fine, and Jonas had yet to regret his decision to accompany Kera.

Except for Renn.

It had all culminated earlier that day. Perhaps it hadn't been a great idea to get angry with a man almost twice his size in the heat of the midday sun, but he just hadn't been able to hold it in anymore! Ever since they had arrived, the pair of them had engaged in quite a few altercations, and all of them had been about Kera. Jonas was, to put it simply, sick of watching Renn treat his sister like a helpless, slow creature, when both of them had seen firsthand what the girl was capable of doing. Kera, for her part, had long since given up, and just returned to playing the part, only ever showing any spark when she was alone with Jonas.

So Renn had punched him.

To be fair, Jonas did slightly regret his wording, but he stood by his point.

He gingerly fingered the tender area on the side of his face, "You know I'm not going to learn from my mistakes." Kera frowned pointedly, "Hey, I came here _because_ we knew he would do this. But next time, I'm punching back – I don't care what you think is best."

Kera threw up her hands in defeat, gesturing as if to slap him on the chest, when a cry was thrown up above the usual sounds of the village.

A stranger was coming over the hill.

They both scrambled up and ran outside, the tent flaps catching in the light evening breeze as they were disturbed. Both froze, exchanging glances with each other as they saw the dark cloaked figure, silhouetted against the dying sun. Dimly, Jonas heard Renn shout to other men in the village to get the women indoor and gather weapons to go out and meet the man.

Typical.

Even if the figure hadn't been carrying what seemed at this distance to be a tall walking stick, his fluid movements were recognisable anyway.

It was Beren.

* * *

"I do not wish to sound unwelcoming, Beren, but you have never come here before." Renn shifted in his seat by the fire, placing his now empty bowl at his feet.

Beren smirked, knowing the question had been coming. Sinaian custom dictated a welcoming meal and lots of pleasantries for visiting friends and kin, and so Renn had been prevented from saying anything. He glanced sideways at Jonas and Kera, who sat strangely slightly out of the fire's glow. That did not stop their sharp eyes from being trained on him, of course. "A visitor has come to Kerma. A woman. My father, our _King-_" The slight lilt of contempt was not missed in the young prince's tone, "-has welcomed her as a wonderful new ally. He will not listen to me, believing my opinion to be ignorant and childish."

Renn tilted his head, "He is your father."

Jonas snorted, "Spoken like a true patriarch."

"It is respect, a matter of utmost importance." Renn snapped back, and a cold silence fell about the desert night.

Beren looked between the pair, seeing Kera shake her head helplessly off to one side and shrug, "Right... Well, the point is, this woman is just like Neith. A, what do the Tau'ri say? Goa'uld?"

Jonas' head snapped up, "What? How can you be sure?"

Beren cocked an eyebrow, before commenting drily, "Her voice isn't exactly the most feminine I've heard in my life. Besides, I knew her name."

Renn frowned, "What? Neith could not have survived. Daniel made sure of it!"

"Not Neith. Nirrti."

The effect was instantaneous. Renn looked worried for a second, but this was rapidly swallowed by nonchalance. Kera tensed, her eyes pleading with Beren to stop speaking, before she looked to Jonas, who had gone incredibly pale. After a moment, he found his voice, "You're wrong."

"I wish I was. I recognised the name when she introduced herself to court, and that only served to reinforce my doubts about her arrival. Although, I thought you said she was dead-"

Jonas cut across him, "She is! I saw her body myself! She was strangled to death by one of her creations..." He shook his head violently, scrubbing a hand through his hair, rising to his feet, "I need some air."

Beren winced apologetically, realising belated that perhaps he should have delivered the news more tactfully. As it was, he had to watch a very awkward situation which he clearly didn't understand, as Kera rose to go after Jonas, only to be stopped by a woman a recognised vaguely as Renn's wife, spurred on by the warning look the man was giving his sister. Kera looked ready to hit something, a fact that was clearly passing Renn by, and so Beren stood, "I'll go after him."

He wound his way through the camp until, on the edge of the tents, he found Jonas, sat leant up against one of the fence posts. "Sorry."

Beren snorted, "Shouldn't I be saying that?" He sat down next to his friend, "About Renn..."

"Long story." Jonas replied shortly.

"A long story that involves that lovely bruise on your cheek?"

Jonas smiled slightly, "Yeah, something like that. But hey, I chose this."

Beren shifted, "Yes, well, people make the wrong choices sometimes. I know I did. You, on the other hand..."

"What do you want, Beren?" Jonas sighed.

The younger man nodded, cutting himself short, "Even if I had not recognised the name Nirrti, I would still be here. The fact that it is her-"

"It isn't."

Beren frowned, "Yes, it is. I know you do not want to be reminded of her, but that fact remains that she is on my world, and I do not believe her intentions are good. I need to contact the SGC."

Jonas snorted, "And I'm supposed to help, how? I was there in the gateroom when you and Renn refused IDCs."

"Jonas, I am not a fool."

"Yeah? Well you sure as hell acted like one."

"Jonas..."

The other man sighed and bowed his head, "I'm sorry Beren. I guess I've just been on the defensive a little bit since, well, since I got here. Renn and I have... yeah. And now Nirrti... This has just been a crap day. I mean, of all the snakes to resurrect themselves, why'd it have to be the only other one who felt like scrambling around with my 'special' DNA?"

"I am sorry for that, Jonas, I truly am, but Daniel and Vala must be told! My people will follow my father, who, if I am honest is a spoilt old fool of a man. I do not have the resources to act by myself. She wants to make us 'better'. A facility has been built in the eastern town! And everyone is just letting her do it, letting Jaffa walk the streets of my home! You may not want to relive your demons, Jonas, but I know Jack O'Neill did not let you leave without a way to return."

Jonas smiled softly, "I hate deserts."

Beren laughed, "Thank you."

"Yeah, well, we should get going. Better Renn doesn't know we're leaving. I just need to get the IDC from my tent."

As he rose, Beren frowned, "But if you and Renn aren't getting along, surely he won't care whether you leave or not?"

Jonas smirked, "True, but he might object to us taking his sister with us."

A slight figure dropped down from a tent canopy to land next to Beren, who yelped, "Gods, woman! Did you have to?" He looked between the pair of them, breathing hard, before calming and smiling sadly, "You two haven't lost what we had together, have you?"

Neither replied.

To Be Continued...

Author Notes: Hope you liked it! As a little explanation and background, the Sinai region is the area between the Nile Delta, and the Middle East. The Sinai region itself is not very habitable, but was home to the Ways of Horus during Ancient Egyptian times, a major trade route between Egypt and Asia. In contrast, Kerma was the capital of the Kushite Empire and the Nubians, further south of Aswan in what is now Sudan. I felt justified in using these origins, as canon writing stole Abydos :D Next chapter should be up by the end of the week - let me know what you thought! :)


	12. Chapter 12

Author Notes: Thanks for the great feedback! As promised, here's the next chapter!

Chapter 12

"General, we're getting an IDC through." Sgt. Harriman informed Hammond as they stared at the newly opened gate.

"Who is it?"

Harriman blinked, "It's registered to Jonas Quinn, sir."

Hammond threw a look sharply down to the computer readouts. Well, that definitely wasn't expected. SG-1 were due back in a few hours, and he had presumed Vala had gotten them into trouble with the locals again; that woman was more trouble than she was worth sometimes...or, all the time.

Well, this will definitely be interesting... "Open the iris."

He immediately headed to the gateroom, in time to see three figures come through the familiar blue sheen. He was sharply reminded how out of place they truly were, how different Jonas was from the man he had first met.

"General." Jonas nodded, Beren and Kera behind him dipping their heads in greeting. His tone was amicable enough, but there was something else, something that put George on edge. His voice was tight, and his face drawn, pale, making a rather noticeable bruise stand up in sharp relief to his skin. His eyes were tired, and the lack of Renn was not easy to miss.

"Jonas." For some reason, he felt the need to drop any formalities, "Beren, Kera. Welcome back." He left his tone hanging, inviting explanation.

Beren's face was grim, "If only it were under good circumstances, General. We wish to speak with you, Daniel and Vala too." A half-hearted smile flitted across his face before it was gone again, "And the rest of SG-1, of course."

"SG-1 isn't due back for another three hours. What's this about?" His eyes searched the three faces, and the tension in the gateroom amongst his staff was palpable, all of them knowing who these three people were. He watched as the girl moved forwards to stand next to Jonas, allowing her fingers to brush his in silent support.

"Nirrti's back." And George wasn't likely to forget the look on Jonas' face anytime soon.

* * *

"_What!_" Jack spat out in disbelief, starring at his commanding officer. They had arrived back after possibly one of the first uneventful missions SG-1 had experienced since Vala joined them, only to be met in the gateroom by Hammond who had informed them that Jonas, along with Beren and Kera, were up in the infirmary being cleared for general movement around the base. Vala and Daniel had shot off without even waiting for a further explanation or dismissal, leaving the rest of the team to get the news from the General.

Hammond nodded, "I don't understand it either, Colonel, but unless another Goa'uld has assumed her identity, the visitor to Beren's homeworld is indeed Nirrti."

"You know, short of Apophis, that woman was the one that really got on my nerves." Jack ground out. Nearly killing Cassie twice, murdering good men and almost killing Carter, and then giving those godawful visions to Jonas. Well, let's just say the woman had the kind of track record that had earned her a more than a little celebration upon her demise. And most definitely put her at the top of Jack's hit list if she wasn't as dead as they had been led to think.

"But how? We saw Wodan strangle her to death." Carter interjected.

They began walking towards the infirmary, intent to meet up with the others. Teal'c frowned, "It is possible that the symbiote underwent a form of hibernation, and succeeded in moving to another individual. Strangulation of the host is not as certainly effective as severance of the spinal cord."

Jack halted, "And you didn't mention this then, _why?_"

"I assumed that the telepathic being, Eggar, would have sensed if her presence was still alive, and I myself could not sense anything from her. Clearly I was gravely mistaken."

Jack ran a hand through his hair as they entered the infirmary, mulling over the situation in his mind. Sam grinned next to him, and walked forwards to hug their lost teammate, "Hey Jonas."

"Sam." There was a smile in Jonas' voice as he returned her affection, though tiredness was there too. The remainder of SG-1 could not fail to notice the worry that thickened the air. Vala sat on a bed next to Beren as a nurse seemed to be debating whether to approach the woman for her checkup. Daniel was largely impassive in his face, but Jack could tell by the way his eyes never left the three that all was not well, and then-

"Jonas, what happened to your face?" Sam exclaimed, reaching up to touch the healing cut and bruise gently as Jonas flinched away.

Beren snorted darkly, "Renn happened."

Jonas smiled in an attempt to disarm any attention from Jack or Teal'c, whose expressions had immediately turned to a mixture of anger and confusion, a look Jack now realised was already on Vala's face, a barely hidden in Daniel's eyes. "Renn and I have experienced a difference of opinions rather often these past few months. And it's hard to keep tempers in check when the heat is pushing to unbearable levels." He shrugged, " I kinda deserved it."

Vala snorted in disbelief as Kera huffed and whacked Jonas on the arm. Jack blinked as he raised one eyebrow. Sure, over the years, he had wanted to punch Jonas too, but that didn't mean he had ever followed through. Out of a morbid curiosity, he asked, "What the hell did you say to him?"

Jonas winced, "That I wished we were back with Neith, because at least then he would stop treating Kera like an invalid. That I'd rather be forced to kill a hundred more people than watch him destroy her in that desert hellhole."

Even Daniel couldn't keep the shock of his face that time, with Beren and Vala's expressions matching to suit; clearly Jonas hadn't told them either. It was an unspoken rule amongst the six that whatever happened, Neith would not be a subject to bring up under stress. Vala gaped at him, "How the hell did Renn not do more to you than that bruise? Even as you were leaving a few months ago he was barely tolerating your presence. I think he was jealous that Kera kept looking to you instead of him."

Jonas shrugged, "Conflicting memories. Renn and Beren got it worse out of all of us. Their lives before just didn't correlate with their lives after."

Beren snorted, "Don't I know it."

"Jonas, I was a con artist and a thief." Vala stated flatly. Everyone just looked at her, and she huffed, "Okay, fair point. But I am more loveable now."

There was a lull, and reality set back in, and Daniel spoke, "Forget blame, or whatever's happened. We need to decide what to do. If Nirrti's back..."

Hammond nodded, "Briefing room, one hour. Unless you have anything particularly pertinent from your last mission to report, Colonel?"

Jack shook his head, "The usual, sir. We came, we saw, Carter had fun and the rest of us were bored. Then we left."

"Very well. One hour then."

* * *

"What do you think they'll decide?" Beren broke the silence of the room. He, Jonas and Kera were staying in one of the VIP suites. After being a part of the preliminary meetings, giving all the information they could, Jack and Hammond had moved off to discuss further, while the rest of SG-1 got some much needed sleep in the bunks down the hall. The three of them knew they should probably be doing the same, but the tension of the situation was too much. For Beren, the fate of his people hung in the balance, while Kera could not help but think of her brother. Jonas was just trying not to think. Period. Renn, being back at the SGC, _Nirrti_.

"I don't know." He murmured in reply.

"Urgh." Beren scrubbed his hands over his face, "I hate waiting. I think it's one of the few things Vala and I still have in common."

Jonas smiled a sad smile, "You have more in common than that. You've just fallen out of habit, that's all."

"But you two haven't?"

Jonas shrugged, "Earth isn't my home; I was always the alien. Even Teal'c is still the alien here – it's a fact of life. Kera was the alien among her own people. We didn't need to readjust...after."

"You're lucky then. It wasn't as hard."

"Wasn't as hard?" Jonas parroted incredulously, "We had to watch as the rest of you – our _family_, the only people who truly understood us for who we were – drifted apart. Yeah, that wasn't hard at all. You were the only people who understood how much of a _horror_ that time under Neith had been. The only ones who shared the nightmares." His voice quietened, and Beren shifted uncomfortably as Kera's eyes flicked between the two of them, her body language unclear.

"We're all a mess." Beren murmured, after a while.

Jonas laughed humourlessly, "Yes, we most definitely are. And no amount of denial or acceptance is going to change that fact." He glanced at Kera, who nodded softly, "But if the SGC can't help you free your people, you'll still have us. And, I'm sure, Daniel and Vala. You are still family, and I know they won't let us down..." Renn was not spoken of; it was a topic best left untouched, especially when conversation had already come so close to Nirrti, the woman Beren know to have plagued Jonas' amnesiac dreams for over a year under Neith.

Beren lips twitched into a shadow of a smile, "Thank you."

* * *

Daniel was not as asleep as the others thought. Neither was Vala, but then, Daniel didn't know that either. Until she sneaked up behind him, that is, "What do you think you are doing?"

"Vala!" Daniel snapped in shock as his fingers nearly slipped and sliced themselves off. "Don't _do_ that!"

"Do what?" She smirked innocently as she sat down beside him.

Daniel sighed in good humour, knowing when not to bother, "Never mind."

The soft, repetitive noise began to fill the room again, and after a pause, Vala spoke again, "You didn't answer my question."

"I would have thought it would be obvious." Daniel replied without looking up.

"Daniel," Vala's tone brooked no argument, "You haven't touched that sword in half a _year_. Not since we started getting our memories back."

"I know. The edge has gotten dull."

"Oh, for the love of... Daniel, stop avoiding. Put that damn sword down and _talk_."

Daniel snorted as he complied, "Since when do you want to have serious conversations?"

"Well, clearly sharing a bed with you has rubbed off on me." Vala responded dryly. "Now, spill."

"I should never have let Jonas go with Renn. He didn't want to leave. Hell – I shouldn't have let Renn force Kera to go either! If I had stopped him, then none of this would be happening."

Vala shook her head, "Yes, and when Beren came to his senses about how repulsive his father is, he would have had no way to return. I don't have to like what Jonas did, but I understand why. I also know how pigheaded Renn can be, and how there is no way you would have prevented him from taking Kera with him."

"Beren's here because of Nirrti."

"No, Beren's here because he needed an excuse. And Nirrti gave him that. He's a proud person, Daniel, and I used to be able to say I know him better than you. Maybe I still do. The point is that if Beren hadn't wanted to leave, then he wouldn't have – he would have tried to stop Nirrti by himself. But he wanted help, he wanted to find us."

"I didn't realise how much I was missing them until I saw them. And it doesn't seem right, Renn being the only one not here."

"I know how you feel. Don't get me wrong, I love being on SG-1, but I like knowing where Beren is, and that Kera and Jonas have our backs." Her voice softened, "I like knowing you and Renn will make the right choices, and look out for us all."

Daniel smiled, "Neith really screwed us up, didn't she?"

"Speak for yourself, I was already dysfunctional."

Daniel laughed for the first time since they had returned from their last mission, reaching round and kissing her softly on the lips, "Thank you."

Vala grinned, "I try." She gestured to the sword, "So, am I to understand I should find out where they put my staff and zat?"

"What?"

"We're going back with Beren, aren't we? Even if General Hammond can't okay the mission?"

"Yes. Even if it's just the five of us. Even without Jack, Sam and Teal'c... even without Renn."

"No such luck." Daniel and Vala turned to see Jack enter the room at those last words, "Hammond's okayed the mission. Nirrti needs to be dead. Like, years ago. We go in under dark, which is in about ten hours according to Beren. Get some sleep, and we'll go over the mission brief at 1100."

Daniel smiled, "Thanks Jack."

His friend shrugged nonchalantly, "Yeah, well I take it as a personal offence when these guys come back to life. It's a blot on the track record. Besides, after what happened with Cassie – twice – and Jonas? Do you really want to be the one to tell the Doc we're not going to do anything?"

Daniel winced, knowing too well how explosive Janet's reaction had been upon hearing that Nirrti was not in fact as dead as they had all thought. "Good point."

Jack nodded, "1100, kids." And he walked out, leaving Vala and Daniel to work out how the hell they were going to make sure this wouldn't be as suicidal as their usual missions.

To Be Continued...

Author Notes: What do you think? There's only a little way to go now!


	13. Chapter 13

Author Notes: Thanks for your reviews - it's nice to know people are still reading this! Finally, we come to the chapter I've been planning for a very very long time. I apologise in advance for, erm... not being very nice. But hey, at least you get action!

Chapter 13

The plan had been pretty simple, all things considered, especially when compared with some of SG-1's previous plans. Get in, destroy the equipment, capture (or kill, let's face it, the attempt at capture would have been half-hearted regardless) Nirrti, and get out. Alive. Simple.

Even with the expected problematic factor of Beren's father potentially getting in the way, it should have worked.

It should have worked.

But as Beren lay pinned, unable to move, covered in dust and blood, staring into the dead eyes of his father, the man he had been too slow to save, crushed grotesquely into the palace floor...as he listened to Vala's screams, heard Jack's yells...

...he found it hard to believe they could have been so naive.

* * *

Jonas' head hurt. Like, really, _really_ hurt. More so than when Jack had knocked him around the head with his gun, definitely ranking up there with brain surgery. He blinked groggily, trying to remember what had happened, but unable to do so. He vaguely recalled the group splitting up, just like the plan.

Jonas and Kera were to get into the depth of the facility and place the C4 charges, while Daniel, Jack and Teal'c were to hunt down Nirrti. Vala and Sam had been tasked with clearing the area of Jaffa, with Beren staying at the palace and Stargate to cover their escape.

So why did he feel like he had been run over by a legion of Jaffa?

And then it all came rushing back. The Jaffa, the zat; he had been too slow – Kera – No! Despite his body and mind protesting, Jonas' eyes snapped open and he struggled to sit up.

Immediately, the sight of death met his eyes, as he found himself starring into the unblinking gaze of a woman. She was stunningly pretty, or at least had been in life; he vaguely recalled seeing her before he had been knocked unconscious, but couldn't quite place who she was. A trickle of deep red blood marred the otherwise flawless pink lips. She lay in all her finery next to a machine that rang horrifying familiar to Jonas, but was far more Goa'uld in design than the one he remembered.

He blinked, trying to clear his thoughts and vision as he noticed the stoic Jaffa standing at the exit in front of him. And then-

"She is perhaps plainer than my preferred type, but her advancements by far make up for her deficit. If only I knew what Neith had been planning, I would not have bothered myself with this disgusting excuse for a world." Jonas turned to the sound of the all-too-familiar tone of voice, and froze.

The dead woman suddenly made sense, but beyond that, god, his whole world had just turned over.

Kera, still wearing the standard-issue gear the SGC had kitted them in, stood smiling down at him. But it was not her smile, it was not her body language. That girl was gone.

Replaced by one of the few people Jonas could truly say he hated. "Nirrti." His voice croaked out the name, cracking under the strain of what was happening.

"Who else, Jonas?" She smiled seductively, the same smile she had worn so long ago when she had tried to tempt him to rule with her.

"Let her go." He didn't care he sounded pathetic. He didn't care he was practically begging. The girl, his _sister_, who had been a solid presence in his life for longer now than he even needed to acknowledge, was gone, entirely.

Kera – Nirrti – laughed with a cold humour that made Jonas wince internally. Kera should not laugh like that, her first spoken words should not have been given to her puppeteer, "Why would I do that? I finally have my Hok'tar. Her defective vocal-chords were but a trifle to repair. I have you, another of Neith's creations at my feet, and will soon have SG-1 and this world." She crouched down to his level, and Jonas found himself unable to suppress a flinch as he saw the gold that twisted up her arm to connect with the jewel in her palm. This was so wrong, "You should have accepted my offer when you had the chance, Jonas. I do not take to rejection kindly."

"Go to hell." He pronounced the words carefully, taking sanctuary in normalcy.

She twisted a smile as she raised her palm to his head, "No, Jonas, you will go there first. Because I know you as my host knows you, and as she screams with you, so I shall watch you both go mad."

He couldn't tear his eyes away from the ones he no longer knew, yet still knew so well, as a shroud of orange light descended on his vision, and his mind was attacked by a thousand nails.

* * *

"Beren!" Vala skidded down to her knees beside him. She touched his leg, only to have him cry out in agony as the already splintered bone pressed further out from his skin. He had managed to avoid the majority of the roof collapse thanks to his speed, and had been by far luckier than the rest of the court, but he still hadn't been fast enough.

The palace had been fired upon by gliders as soon as Nirrti had realised what was going on, in an attempt to cut them off from the Stargate. Thankfully, only the DHD had been damaged, and Sam was already working on getting it back online.

"Argh!" Beren panted as Vala touched the beam, "Please don't do that again."

"Daniel! Teal'c! He's here!" Jack was still provided them cover from the entrance, aided by the uprising of the people in the streets. Vala turned back to Beren, hissing in part anger, part fear, "What were you thinking? That man was not worth you _life!_"

"He was my father." Beren bit back through gritted teeth, "I had to try, regardless what kind of a man he was in life."

Vala's features softened, though she could not help but think back to Drek as she looked over Beren. So much had happened since they last were in these halls... "Crap." Daniel swore as he was met with the situation, but immediately pushed his worry aside, shirking off his jacket, "Vala, take this, put pressure on the wound as soon as Teal'c and I lift this off Beren."

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me." Beren moaned, knowing how the slightest touch was painful enough.

Teal'c received a radio call, "Major Carter has the Stargate online. We need to get him through to the SGC."

Daniel nodded, "Can you carry him through while Vala keeps pressure? I have to find Jonas and Kera. Hammond won't send another team after this."

"I'm staying!" Vala snapped.

"No, you're not."

"Like hell!"

"Vala, that's an order!" Daniel had unconsciously said it, and equally unconsciously accompanied it with the appropriate body language and signal he had left unused for so long. She visibly flinched in shock, but nodded numbly. Ever since they had got to this place, they had been unable to help falling back into what they knew as a unit. She could still picture Jack's face when he saw her take down three Jaffa.

"We should move now." Teal'c stated, breaking the silence, "The roof is unstable and the gliders could come around again."

Daniel nodded, "On three then. One, two, _three!_"

Beren couldn't help the scream that ripped from his throat as renewed pain laced through his nerves.

The three of them immediately moved, Daniel yelling at Sam to dial Earth; Jack had caught up with them, firing at something unseen. Beren had passed out as Teal'c and Vala ran in tandem towards the event horizon, Daniel's eyes meeting hers for only a fleeting instant before they were gone.

"Daniel! Carter! Go through!" Jack yelled as he ran. Sam obeyed instantly, but Daniel didn't move, "Daniel, what the hell? I said get going!"

"No – I'm not leaving without Jonas and Kera, not without doing what we came here to do."

"_What?_" Jack spat in disbelief, his disbelieving gaze meeting Daniel's cool resolve before sliding down the take in his friend's appearance. His muscles were tense, and his face impassive. Blood was barely visible against the black BDUs, but shined bright against the blade at his side, and the hand grasping the zat. And Jack knew. Daniel had never come back to them those months ago. He had long ago been lost, changed, the moment he had been kidnapped all that time ago. There was no before and after. There was just now, and everyone was just starting to realise what Jonas and Kera had always known.

People evolve. There is not one state of being, not one mindset. Jack nodded, and Daniel smiled grimly in thanks, "I have an IDC. We'll get through."

"You've got an hour before Hammond locks your code out of the computers."

" I know."

Jack nodded tightly, "Good luck."

* * *

Jonas fell to his side, the orange light suddenly gone. His head swam, unable to focus on anything. And then strong hands grasped his shoulders, pulling him to sit up. One hand cupped his cheek, trying to check if he was okay. He struggled to focus, and then frowned as the face swam into view... "Renn?" He croaked in disbelief.

The man nodded grimly, relief in his eyes, "Yes. Can you stand?"

"I...what...how?" Jonas blinked as his mind began to sharpen, "Kera! Renn, she's Nirrti, she's..." He trailed off, a wave of shock and nausea crashing over him. Despite all the dead bodies he had seen, and had created serving Neith, this one was too much.

Blood shone as it spread across the smooth floor, mingling with that of the now-deceased Jaffa, and matching that which dripped from the sword at Renn's side. The man nodded softly, "I know."

Kera...Nirrti...lay dead. Renn had killed her in exactly the same way Daniel had killed Neith, right through the spine. Quick, clean..._wrong_. "Oh god. Why? She was our _sister!_ We could have saved her, we could have done something! You're not even supposed to be here! Why would you-"

"She was not our sister." Jonas barely registered the acknowledged change back from 'my sister' to 'our sister' in the larger man's words, "Kera was already gone, and now she is at peace."

"No! I could-"

"She would have killed you, Jonas." Renn's words were soft, calm, despite what he had just done, "We need to go. Now. I ask again – can you stand?"

Jonas was numb, and could not understand his brother's calm. He fell back on what he knew, what Neith had engrained in them, "Yes."

Renn nodded, handing Jonas a zat gun from the dead Jaffa's belt. They moved with old habit through the corridors of what Jonas now realised was the mothership perched on top of the facility he and Kera had been tasked to infiltrate. They met with little resistance they couldn't handle, both working on autopilot, until suddenly the body of a Jaffa fell to the ground when neither of them had touched him. They dispatched with the other two, and then, "Renn? What the hell are you doing here?"

Renn nodded, clasping Daniel's arm in what to Daniel was a surprisingly warm greeting, "Daniel. It is good to see you alive. The others?"

"Back on Earth. I came looking for Jonas and Kera." Daniel left the sentence hanging.

Jonas filled the sudden gun-filled silence with a dead voice, "She's dead. So's Nirrti."

Daniel flinched, but to his credit, did not say anything further, resolving to ask more when they were out of danger. Renn nodded to Jonas' words, "I came here looking for her, but too soon realised how much I had not wanted to recognise the similarities to Neith in Beren's plight. And then you came through the Stargate, and the Jaffa raised the alarm. I was tracking these two, but they are as good as the day Neith died. I was too slow." His words rang with more than their contents, and both men heard the apology and regret in their meaning.

"We need to get out of here." Daniel acknowledged the apology by brushing over the words with familiar body language, to which Jonas has to swallow down any reflection of Kera.

Jonas shook his head, "We came here to help Beren's people – we still need to set off the charges. We need to get rid of this ship and facility. The Jaffa won't go away because their god is dead. They don't even know she's been killed. But if we blow it up, they'll retreat."

Daniel nodded, "Where are they?"

Jonas paled, "Kera had them."

Renn shook his head, "If we overload the core of the ship, will that not cause it to explode? I recall it almost happening when we orbited over the rebel-" He winced and corrected his words, "The slave planet Medina. I will go – I know how, I think. And where."

"We'll wait for you by the gate." Jonas nodded, automatically accepting a Type A decision without even realising it, already moving off.

"You're not Vala or Beren." Daniel stated. The meaning was implicit. Renn couldn't run that fast.

"I have a debt to pay to our sister, and our brother. I was wrong, and she paid the price."

"Renn-"

"Go Daniel. Look after them as you always have. And do not let them forget this time." His eyes hardened as Jaffa emerged a way down the corridor, and Jonas engaged them, "Go!"

And they did.

They fought their way out as Renn fought his way in.

The force of the resulting explosion was enough to rip them from their feet. It was enough, in fact, to distract a yelling Jonas for Daniel to wrench him through the open gate.

It was not enough to dull the shock that set in as soon as their feet hit the metal grate floor.

To be Continued...

Author Notes: Hope you enjoyed it! I'm quite proud I managed to refrain from offing canon characters really. My beta thinks I'm far too homicidal when it comes to my writing. She's probably right. But anyway, one more chapter left! Can't believe we've come so far! I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter :)


	14. Chapter 14

Author Notes: It's the end! I can't believe it's taken me so long, and I bet you can't either! It's nice to finally get this completed, after so many year in my head, and so many months in the works. Thanks for all the reviews and silent support you guys have given me since I started this project, and I hope you like the conclusion!

Chapter 14

Jonas was exhausted. He sat alone, in the relative seclusion of his and Daniel's office. Today had been the day of the funeral, and every time he closed his eyes, he saw Kera and Renn's faces, or heard Juma and the other Sinaians' mourning wails. It had almost been too much.

They had stood on the outskirts of the little tent-village, as if an age had passed rather than the reality of two weeks since he had last been there. Juma had taken the torch from the Sinaian Elder, and walked to the rise in the outcrop. In lieu of bodies to bury, a tent had been erected, filled with the worldly possessions of the siblings, and it was soon alight with flames, flickering the dusk air as the desert temperature began to drop with the oncoming night.

It was the second time these people had done this for the pair. And Jonas knew that this time would be infinitely worse.

Juma and the others had been polite, but Jonas had known they were happy to see them leave. It didn't seem right anyway. He couldn't connect the Kera, or even the Renn he knew with that dead place. It was literally worlds away from how he knew them. Had known them...

"Jonas?" A soft voice spoke from the doorway, and he looked up to see Sam tentatively smiling over at him.

"Hey." He couldn't muster much more than that.

"Can I come in?" He nodded, and she sat down opposite him, separated by a comforting table of cluttered books and random artefacts catalogued only under Daniel's haphazard 'order', "How're you doing?"

He paused for a second, before actually meeting her gaze, "I have no idea."

She smiled crookedly, "Good answer."

He smiled weakly in return, and wasn't sure how long Sam let the silence stretch for his sake, just being there without pressing him to talk. She had always been surprisingly good at that, despite the scientist in her. He knew it had been a while when Jack had come looking, "You guys up for some food? Teal'c is planning on stealing some for Beren – the Doc's confined him to bed since his 'exertion' this morning." The young man had stubbornly refused to miss the ceremony, something Jonas had been both annoyed and thankful for. Vala had sided with Janet more on the matter, and had just been annoyed about Beren's disregard for his healing leg.

"Sure, sir, we'll be right there." Jack nodded, and went ahead, recognising his 2IC's tone.

"I think I'll stay here." Jonas murmured.

"No, I think you need to eat. If you don't, I'm not protecting you when Daniel, Vala and _Janet_ come looking." Jonas winced at the last threat, and found himself grinning slightly with Sam. She sobered a little, "We're your family, Jonas. We're still here."

He paused at her words as she stood up, waiting for him to rise as well. His lips twitched slightly at the sentiment, "Thanks Sam."

She smiled, "No problem."

* * *

Jack had left Carter to deal with Jonas – she had always been the closest person to the Kelownan, back when Daniel had been going through his 'glowy phase', as Jack dubbed it, and that had never really stopped. He paused as he entered the cafeteria. Teal'c wasn't there yet, but someone else was. Daniel sat alone in a corner, staring at his plate intently without any indication that he had actually eaten anything. Jack was more annoyed that this sight didn't surprise him, than anything else.

Jack sat pointedly down with a tray, directly opposite Daniel. The other man raised his eyes from his plate, staring at Jack with faint amusement, before quietly acknowledging, "Hey Jack."

"No Vala?" Jack questioned.

"She's keeping Beren company in a way only she can." Daniel informed him dryly. Jack snorted, knowing full well what that could be like.

"You actually going to eat that?" Jack nodded his head to what was, no doubt, very cold chicken.

Daniel shrugged, "It looked more appetising on the shelf."

"Uh huh."

Daniel placed his fork down, leaving his food be for the moment, "I'm fine, Jack."

"Never said you weren't. You seem to need to justify yourself though."

"Jack..."

"Daniel." Jack met his friend's gaze, and smiled slightly to match Daniel's exasperated grin, brought out from the comfortingly familiar exchange.

There was a silence between them for a moment, as both turned to the noise of the rest of SG-1, minus Vala, enter and head over to the food, Teal'c cutting a determined path. "Will it get better?" Daniel asked quietly, keeping his voice low enough so that even Jonas wouldn't hear his words.

Jack shifted, speaking slowly, "The guilt won't go away. But yeah, it'll get better."

"How did you do it all those years? All those times we nearly died, hell, when we did die?"

Jack shrugged, "I just did. You're back, Hammond's reinstating Jonas, Vala's sticking around and another snakehead is dead."

"Positive thinking is your advice then?" Daniel asked dubiously.

Jack eyed his best friend carefully, "I don't know, that was always your job."

Daniel cast his gaze to the table, waiting a while before speaking, "I think I might have to delegate that job to Vala now."

Jack winced internally, the realisation of how much had changed hitting him full on for yet another time since things had really gone to hell – and when was that exactly? Instead, he replied, as the rest of the team came over, "Whatever works."

* * *

"If we don't hear from you once a week, I'm coming after you." Vala threatened, her arms folded as she stared down Beren.

Daniel rolled his eyes, slipping a hand onto her shoulder, "She means once a month."

Beren snorted, "If only I was as positive as you. Vala – I am going to be very busy, but I will try and remember to let you know I'm still walking once in a while."

SG-1 stood with General Hammond at the base of the open Stargate. In the back of his mind, George mused that perhaps he should think about doing something about his now six person strong flagship team, but decided he couldn't really be bothered.

Beren stood on the ramp, flanked and supported by two of his people, the new bodyguards for the King of Kerma, a concept Beren found beyond distasteful, and Vala just found funny. Nirrti had left a path of destruction behind her, but the Kermans were resilient, and would follow the king who helped them narrowly avoid the fate their last king tried to deal them. Beren, while still a little unsteady on his leg, was determined that he had been away too long. He belonged with his people, but unlike last time, he was not abandoning his other family, an IDC safe in his bag.

"Good luck kid." Jack nodded, a smile on his face as he pictured all the bureaucracy Beren was going to have to deal with.

"I'll need it." Beren responded wryly, "General, thank you for everything. As soon as my people are back on our feet, I would be interested in establishing trade relation with your people. We were quite the trade planet in my youngest days, and have many links I hope to re-establish across the galaxy."

"Yeah, the planet's loaded." Vala interjected, earning a light slap on the arm from Jonas. Daniel sighed in exasperation.

General Hammond nodded diplomatically despite Vala's words, "I look forward to hearing from you son."

Beren grinned and, ignoring the twitchy looks of his bodyguards, embraced the remains of his family in turn. He was loath to leave them, but knew it was for the best. It was not like the last time. They weren't in denial of what had happened; they weren't trying to forget. They were just moving on. He shook hands with the rest of SG-1 and General Hammond, accepting a hug from Sam.

It was going to be okay. Not great, not perfect, and most definitely not painless. But they had a hope.

**FIN**

Author Notes: It's finally done! Are you in as much disbelief as I am? It's almost been a year. Oops. Well, I hope you enjoyed it, and the conclusion. I'd love to hear any closing thoughts you have on this, or anything that's been bugging you during the story. I look forward to hearing from you this last time, and thank you for reading!


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